


Second Chance; A New Start

by KawaiiAnimeGirl



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angsty Naruto, Gen, No character bashing, Team Seven Centric, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Undecided Relationship(s), now with fanart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2018-09-07 16:57:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 73,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8808691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KawaiiAnimeGirl/pseuds/KawaiiAnimeGirl
Summary: It was a desolate wasteland, all shinobi villages are gone, completely eradicated (well… all except one and his demonic companion, that is). But a chance is presented—a take two if you will. And, unwilling or not, one's future collides into their past.The shinobi villages will never know what's coming for them. (Or: another post-apocalyptic time-traveler Naruto angst-fest fanfic written by an amateur hand)*Undergoing minor edits*





	1. Prologue- Stray Kunai

The dense smoke rattled his lungs. A stretch of flattened ground surrounded him, distended by piles of corpses and cataclysmic jutsu. Naruto stood limply at its center.

 _'Kit, stop this wallowing in self-pity and do something._ ’

“D-do something? Is there an-anything left to do? They are all dead. Ya’ know… maybe it’s ‘bout time I join them… _dattebayo_ .” He spoke with as much enthusiasm he could muster, but his tone fell flat. Even now, that hot emotion of despondency refused to bubble up. He felt removed. He could see everything, but his awareness became limited. He didn’t want to perceive: as that meant acknowledging that he was alone. And where that fault lay.

He was numb. Desensitized. That became his security. And he would hold onto the fraying edges of that denial until the end. Those were his comrades out there; the ones he’d protected and fought for and let die. He would join them soon, letting go of the remnants of his sanity. He already would have, if not for Kurama’s repeated _interventions_.

 _'You know, Kit, such thoughts aren't good for you. And these_ interventions _have repeatedly not only saved your life but mine as well_.’ Naruto knew this very well. Too much time on his hands—and a former fuinjutsu master’s legacy—brought him to the conclusion that the Fourth’s seal didn’t only trap the Kyuubi in his gut, but also tied their very souls together, the very fibers of their existence conjoined into a web. If Naruto met his demise without releasing, or at the very least transferring, the Fox-demon, the strain on Kurama’s _being_ will dissolve the bijuu for the next millennia. Likewise, if Naruto simply freed the fox, after being submerged in bijuu chakra for his entire life, his body would begin to give out: a slow and painful asphyxiation. The consequences of a full proof seal.

“You know, maybe I’ll release you-” He was abruptly cut off by Kurama’s indignant cry.

 _'Even when knowing the implications behind such an act, you’ll still want to go through with this?! Killing yourself will_ not _fix anything!’_

The dam broke.

“But… there is nothing left for me here. I want to join them! Please!” he sobbed. Reality painted a morbid picture, one that his consciousness could no longer flee. His apathy couldn't hold up against the sudden torrent of emotion, the stabbing pain that _this is how everything ends._  A war without any winners. But he was finally going to die: reach that final _release_. And this demon was blocking his way from reuniting with his precious people. 

_'And let me wander this wasteland for eternity. Besides, there is a much preferable course of action.'_

His eyes unfocused as he collapsed in a heap. The Kyuubi’s words didn't find purchase in his mind. And Naruto couldn't help the downwards spiral of the realization that everything that ever mattered was gone; slowly stripped away until he was the only one left.

“Sorry- I’m sorry… so so sorry…” he mumbled uncomprehendingly. The adrenaline high from the battle crashed on the demon-container, leaving Naruto delirious with cloudy rationality. If the Kyuubi wasn’t trapped in him, the Akatsuki would have never attacked the village and Madara wouldn’t have been revived through Edo-Tensei. And although mad man’s corpse was discarded among the thousands encompassing his view him, Naruto had simply not done enough. None of his efforts had made a difference. Why couldn’t he just-

 _'NARUTO!_ ’ The Kyuubi’s outcry snapped Naruto’s attention back into a semblance of focus. _‘On any different occasion I would leave you to your useless wallowing, but now is the best time- the only time to activate a ritual. I’m not planning on staying in this_ hell for _another millennia, and these circumstances align perfectly. This will give you—_ us _—both a second chance to fix_ everything _, a fresh new start.’_

It took Naruto a long moment for the cryptic wording to register amongst his disjointed thoughts. As heartening as the prospect sounded, he was instantly put on guard. Such miracles don't come so last minute in anywhere but fairy-tales. He was too disillusioned to believe in the possibility of a _second chance,_ especially without a catch. Years of war-tempered cynicism wouldn't let him believe otherwise. For all that Kurama was his friend, he was also a demon—such a temptation should be taken with caution. But a chance to fix _everything_? (All those tragedies that could be avoided, all his precious people alive again.) It was all too tempting, especially in his state. He had nothing left to lose.

“How?” his hoarse voice demanded.

 _‘With every lost life, there is an_ _energy, of sorts, that is released. I’ve been collecting this energy as last resort if it actually came to this. To reverse time. That's what I'm planning. And many sacrifices were necessary—they didn't die for nothing, Naruto.'_

Disgust rolled in the pit of his stomach, a comprehension dawning at what his tenant stooped to before Naruto banished the feeling. If Kurama's plan came to fruition, all this would never have happened. It would cease to exist. He hoped. A brand new slate. He would meet them again. Apologize. (It hadn't yet dawned on him that this could be a fantasy, a delusion caused by desperation, a genjutsu manipulating all his senses.)

 _‘The farthest I can take you back is to when you first became aware of my existence. My chakra will stretch thin, but it’s a focal point in both our lives._ ’ Without waiting for Naruto's affirmation, he could feel the energies, that of a bijuu and of departed souls, mix and release in his chest.

It was an ice-cold bucket of water over his head. “Wait, _what?!_ I don’t want to do it all over again. How can I face them all, after everything I did?” His voice echoed through the deafening silence of the wasteland.

 _‘Honestly, I don’t understand why you dump all of this misdirected blame onto yourself. None of this was directly caused by your actions,'_ the Kyuubi sighed, exasperation overshadowing urgency. _‘Besides, this will give you a fresh start and another opportunity to save all your precious people. We both benefit._ ’

He was bone tired, weariness etched into all his limbs. Could he survive living through everything again? Would anything truly change? He couldn't help but doubt it.

“Is it all doomed to repeat?” he outwardly mused. What point was there to lengthen the little time he had left, if it would only come back to this? Is change even possible? Or is the timeline stuck in an endless cycle of fate: unceasing death and destruction?

 _‘Now you’re beginning to sound like that Hyuuga, the one that used to ramble on and on about his fate. The future isn’t set in stone_. _It's just as much a variable as space; bendable by seals.'_ The bijuu’s words were a reassuring, cool balm on his fears. He distantly wondered if the words held any truth in them, or if they were just empty promises.

“Alright,” he swallowed, gathering his bearings. _Time travel_ , he swallowed, _what would that entail?_ For all the tragedies in his life, he’s never considered the concept of time travel as something other than a theoretical concept, vaguely brought up by the space-time fuinjutsu that he’d studied. But now it just became a very real possibility. He wanted—no, _needed_ , more time to think on this—he wasn’t sure–

 _'Kit, I’m starting the ritual now. It’s a relatively easy sealing array; only three layers and unbalanced in nature. It, unfortunately, has the annoying factor of having to be drawn in blood. I’ll speed up your blood production, but that comes at the cost of my own assistance. You will have to draw these seals manually._ ’

The blond’s uncertainties were overshadowed by this objective. He gave a sharp nod in agreement as the complex and startlingly unbalanced seal appeared before his eyes: a mirage. It was far larger than he expected—would he have enough blood to cover such an area? But that was Kurama’s task, so he quickly put it out of mind. For a time travel seal, it was relatively simple in that it had only three layers. The fact that it was a seven on six on five-sided seal only indicated how far it was twisting the laws of nature.

Naruto found a stray kunai, blunted and crusted with dried blood. Apathetically, he slashed across the pad of his left thumb, hitting the bone beneath the flesh. He gave no outward reaction except for a soft sigh and a steady gushing of blood, flowing at the same pace as his pulse. The sting gave him focus, grounding him into the present.

He started from the center, meticulously drawing the swirling designs in sharp, concise hand movements. The thick crimson was relatively tricky to write with, the consistency unfamiliar to his usual ink calligraphy. At the end of the first layer, he made a hand sign, and immediately started the next layer. The first layer flashed a dangerous purple, before sinking into the ground: invisible. The seal, in concept, was strange to produce. It went against most of the rules he’d ever learned in his studies. Putting an odd sided seal as a base was already risking an imminent explosion; being generally unbalanced, placing an even seal first acted as a sticking agent. Having the most complex seal at the bottom made this into an even more convoluted mess. And the seals didn’t even function to stabilize each other, rather, each had it’s own completely different properties. The first layer filtered that cultivated energy into something usable. The second layer was the key to Naruto's chakra signature. It made sure that he was the one being transported (not like there was anyone else left). The third layer piped in the energy from the bottom seal to complete the transportation. Naruto almost itched to further evaluate the seals; as it was, there were some components that, unnervingly, he didn’t understand the use for. It was like signing a contract without reading the fine print.

He finished with a groan. His left hand was numb from the shoulder down, and he was feeling increasingly lightheaded. Even if this ends up as a successful endeavor, he would soon die no matter what Kurama would do; if not from blood loss, then infection from the kunai. Which, even to his unsteady thoughts, seemed _off_. Why would Kurama have him go through this if he would only die in the process? If this body was going to be- oh. That’s why his signature was such a necessary component. His body wasn’t going back with him after all.

He couldn't fight against the pull of the seal.

 

 

* * *

 

  

The Kyuubi, contrary to what others may think, was not just a conscious cluster of malicious chakra, but actually a cluster of millennia upon millennia years of experience and memories. Of course, most of these memories are suppressed under seals of his own creation to avoid memory overload (who'd want to be like those blasted Uchiha?). So when his container finally came to the realization that he’d be taking over his younger counterpart, he took control into his own paws and blasted the finished seal with chakra. The bijuu was well informed of his kit’s hero-complex and decided it was better to activate it now than wait for the blond to lose all his energy to the inevitable shouting match. Silly humans and their moral guidelines.

He only worried about his Kit’s reaction to the past. He knew Naruto would be in denial at first, and then move on to a stage of self-loathing. And due to the nature of the ritual, it was likely that Kurama himself would be incapacitated for a month at the minimum; then weak for an undetermined amount of time thereafter. He hoped his container’s additional strength would counterbalance this weakness, for however long it would last.

Naruto was too physically and mentally weak to resist the Kyuubi’s control. The seals blazed to life, the once dull blood flared into an iridescent alizarin. Everything in the background dimmed out of sight, fading from existence. Kurama could feel his essence being drawn out, the rapid diminishing of his chakra. But at a few millennia years old, chakra capacity was never a factor. As long as a single speck is left, he will regenerate. It was all he could do to make sure the ritual only took from him, not Naruto. His little blond container had much to achieve, after all.

That blond’s sentiment was rubbing off on him.

The world faded into nothingness.

 


	2. False Blue Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *edited July 7th, 2017

He woke with a gasp.

Fingers grasped at frayed sheets as he sat straight up on a child-sized bed as if jolted from a violent nightmare. His eyes wildly took in his surrounding, flickering unceasingly from one corner to the next, meeting at the edges of unfamiliar walls.

He was immediately overcome with a strong bout of lightheadedness, black spots fraying his vision until his head fell back with a thump. He squeezed his eyes shut and put the palms of strangely small, delicate hands over his eyes, fingernails digging into scalp and face. Incoherent mumbles escaped from him, shivers wreaking his thin frame. The bed beneath him rattled with him, the cheap mattress squeaking with each movement.

“Wha-w-wha-what–” he bit his lip to stop the noise. Hard. He moaned in distress, blood dripping from a punctured bottom lip. His breaths came in too-quick breaths; never enough air. His knees tucked against his chest, turned to the wall.

_Who was he? Whose body does this belong to? It couldn't be his!_ But as he was slowly coming into coherence, he began to realize that it was, in fact, _his_ body. But not the one he had so diligently trained into the perfect weapon. No, a child's body. His former body. For a moment, all he could remember was the pain. (Endless: disintegrating by his own chakra, yet tethered to the realm of the living.) As his thoughts sharpened, his memories weaved themselves into a startling conclusion. He had genuinely  _time travelled._

Or he was in a genjutsu befitting of a madman— _Madara_.

“Kai! KAI! _KAI_!”

He went through every genjutsu breaking technique he knew in a panicked daze, futilely coming up with no results. He had taken up residence in a place that did not belong to him, making him no better than Orochimaru. This wasn't just some vessel he could fill, no, nothing as innocent as that. He effectively killed his former, child self. That he knew the hopes and dreams and longings of this child made it no better. 

The train of thought made him sick, so nauseous that it was all he could do to turn his head to the side of the bed before introducing his stomach’s meager contents to the floor. And then he couldn't stop, continuing to dry heave until all that came was stomach acid, burning it's way up his throat and into his mouth.

But then it ended. He brought his hands down from his face, observing the dried blood crusted beneath his nails with an unfocused, glazed gaze. He breathed sharply through his nose, scrunching it when all he could smell was the stomach fluid coating the wooden floor. As his eyes began to focus, he sat up, slowly shifting his body this time, with a sweaty palm pressed to his forehead to wade off the dizziness. Making sure to take deep breaths, this time with his mouth, he calmed himself down from his panicked state.

He sat with his back straight against the wall, head tilted back. He mentally recalled all the hand seals required for each jutsu he knew while staring unseeingly into the molding ceiling above. In this position all lingering nausea ebbed away, leaving an illusion of tranquility.

An illusion quickly ruined by a loud crash from outside.

Reflexes kicked in, driving him up onto the ceiling, where he crouched, the soles of his feet stuck to its surface, and a hand reaching for the non-existent kunai pouch on his left thigh. A shrill burst of adrenalin coursed through his veins, paranoia making him hyper-focused on his surroundings.

He peered out the cracked window, conveniently angled for easy access. It was still dark out, but he spotted a young academy student that ran into an early rising street vendor. The student was face planted into the earth, a scarf tangled up at his feet. His head was raised, and an accusing finger pointed at the harassed vendor and his tipped kart. An obnoxious voice loudly proclaimed the vendor's fault. During his tirade, the young academy student’s face turned slightly in Naruto’s direction, just enough to get a glimpse. He recognized those youthful features instantly.

_Konohamaru_.

The demon container startled into laughing, little hysterical huffs of amusement. The rush of adrenalin had left behind shivering limbs and a racing heartbeat. Those little puffs of air quickly spiraled into crazed guffaws. Tears sprang from his eyes, and his breaths transformed into gasps. He finally began comprehending the full extent of his situation. He would never see his old friends again. They were dead. But this was his chance to remedy that. He was not happy, but he'll do his damn hardest to keep his precious people alive this time around. Even if he died trying.

He callously dropped from the ceiling onto the bed. It made a sharp noise of protest, and the weak frame collapsed on itself.

Naruto snapped out of the whirlwind of his thoughts, his mind quieting into a suffocating silence. Shaking hands wiped moist eyes, and racing breaths slowed to a more sedate pace as he gained awareness of the mess he created in the small room. He climbed off the creaking mattress, avoiding the shards of wood from the broken bed frame and vomit on the floor. His displaced comforter had fallen right into the mess. He mindlessly cleaned what he could with the already sullied blanket, and picked it up to find the bathroom. His memory of this apartment was hazy at best, having moved out to go with Ero-sennin those three years. It has been over a decade since he'd roamed this apartment.

The room's door led directly into a living room, and from there was the tiny kitchenette and an equally small bathroom. He made his way into the bathroom and put the soiled blanket into the sink, turning the tap on. He rinsed it out, making sure to scrub every surface, and hung it to dry. He then scooped some water into his _too-small_ hands and washed his mouth and face off. He avoided the mirror like a plague. It was enough that he understood what he _had done_ —he didn't need his new reality to stare at him quite so blatantly. Not yet.

But as he scrubbed at his face harshly, he quickly realized he had little choice. As he abraded the drying blood from his scratched scalp and punctured lip, his fingers grazed his whisker marks. He drew his fingers away with a hiss. They had never such a rough texture before, as if _branded_ into his skin. Disturbing the wound seemed to trigger a harsh stinging sensation, spreading over his face in waves. He cursed, tightly gripping the counter to steady himself. He hadn't noticed earlier what just became achingly obvious due to the panic that overcame all rational thought. He found a stray towel and patted his face dry, carefully not aggravating the marks. He had to hazard a glance at his reflection; the powerful _need to know_ _how much he marred this body_ taking over all former decisions to proceed otherwise.

With dredged up courage he took a look.

His heart skipped a beat.

The once cerulean blue eyes morphed into a slitted poisonous purple, and the previously thin whisker marks turned to thick scar tissue, dark and raised. The edges were swollen and red.

A harsh, strangled gasp escaped him. He couldn't look away. These changesbefitted him; he corrupted this body, it only made sense for it to show as a physical manifestation. A brand. A pained smile stretched his lips, his eyes catching every last detail of his reflection, from the youthful round face, to the molted scars distending clear skin, to the unnatural eyes surrounded by short blond lashes. His hair was shorter than he had had it, barely grazing the tops of his eyebrows. He latched on to every minutiae of his appearance, but his attention continued to drift back to the mauve iris, bisected by a black pin, surrounded by white, blood-shot sclera.

He tore his gaze away and momentarily rested his head on his forearms.

The Kyuubi’s presence felt so faint that Naruto could barely detect him. Even when Naruto was unaware of the demon, he had still felt his presence, as if someone was staring at the back of his head, far stronger than now. Guessing by the signs, he had probably absorbed much of the demon itself—a hypothesis supported by the annunciated whiskers and shifted eyes. The eyes seemed to be a combination of his own and the Nine-Tails’. It was a horrifying prospect. (It meant that he was _alone_.)

He turned back to the mirror, once again analyzing his features. His fingers reflexively flicked through the seals necessary for a henge. He applied only the bare minimum, not risking the chance that he'd change something notable nor expend too much chakra. He wasn't that familiar with his childhood appearance, so the altercations were based on his older features. Not even a jounin would notice his light chakra application, not without intense scrutiny.

His chakra came faster then it should have at the jutsu’s activation. Chakra is a mix of both spiritual (experience) and physical strength, and while he the first in spades, this body wasn't physically conditioned yet. And although his own chakra capacity was much smaller than he was used too, leading to a much more precise chakra control, it was still much larger than it should have been at this point in time. He already had numerous theories as to why this was the case.

He grimaced, “What a predicament I've gotten myself into.”

He made eye contact with those false blue eyes. All he heard was an unfamiliar sound coming from that small mouth, surrounded by thin, chapped lips. A child's voice. It sounded peculiar around his words; a mouth unused to forming words with that many syllables.

He reentered the living room, now spotting a colorful calendar clumsily tacked onto the wall. It was marked up, the day's date matching up with a big red star, all the former boxes crossed out in red marker. Today was the day that he would meet his jounin-sensei. The calendar was thankfully marked with the time right beneath the exuberant markings, so he knew what time he needed to be at the academy. He had four hours. Only four hours to mentally prepare himself, without even Kurama to support him. All his old friends, the ones he'd personally seen die, would be there, young and childlike. He would be an absolute wreck.

He'd have to re-meet Kakashi-sensei, known for looking ‘underneath the underneath,' and keep cover. At least he hardly knew Naruto at this point in time, so he didn't know any past behaviors as a point of reference. But Sakura-chan and Sasuke were a different story. They may not be as observant as a jounin, but they did spend the last few years in the academy with him, and were trained as shinobi. And he knew, that while should try his best to chase after Sakura all day, smile and prank everyone, he couldn’t find it in himself to act that way. Not only did he steal _his_ body, but to copy his personality too? That wasn’t him anymore—pretending to be someone he wasn’t would only further screw with his head. It was enough that he wasn’t totally _balanced,_ but acting completely opposite from how he was feeling would only serve to tip him off a precarious edge.

But there are certain people that knew him particularly well. How could he possibly cover that up? Iruka and the Hokage would surely notice something off and be in a position to do something about it. His eyes narrowed as he tried to come up with a semblance of a plan, thinking back to the events that occurred a decade ago, a day ago.

He would use the events of the previous night as a cover. Pretend that the revelation of his tenant and the events that followed changed him, made him want to become a better ninja. Traumatized him. It had potential if done correctly.

And how strange would it be to see the Old Man back in office? The last time Naruto saw him, he was resurrected as an Edo-Tensei, fighting against the Leaf—or what was left of it, anyway. He would need to keep his composure when they inevitably met, be it for a mission assignment or a _talk_ about his new strange behaviors. He hoped it wouldn't come to that.

He itched to write all of his future information down, make accounts of his strategy, his _identity_ ; but Naruto knew he couldn't risk it. Even the luxury of sorting his mind on paper was unavailable to him. He knew how easy it was to break into this house; how suspicious it would look if he used seals as a safeguard. People have been sent to T&I for smaller offenses, and with him being who he was, he might never again see the light of day. It wasn't an option. 

He padded back to the bedroom, each footstep silent despite of the creaking hardwood. He opened the small closet, stashed against the wall. He began to go through the motions of getting ready. He hoped to find something not so mind-blaring orange, but still had the color incorporated into it so the change isn't too drastic. By making his transition as subtle as possible, he could perhaps throw off much of the potential scrutiny. He found a plain black long sleeved shirt, and loose navy blue pants with a thin, bright orange stripe lining the sides. He didn't know how he acquired it, only knowing that he couldn't have been the on to buy it as it had far too little orange. He topped the outfit with his usual orange jacket, promising himself to rid of it in the near future. At the moment, he wanted to be as discreet as possible.

For the next few hours, Naruto re-accustomed himself to his surroundings, mindlessly engaging in some much-needed housework as he forced together a semblance of equilibrium. He dug through forgotten shelves, finding weapons and other potentially useful tools, and put them in a pile. He tossed out the unbalanced kunai and other useless items and placed the unfortunate few left into his weapons pouch. But from the scent wafting from the kitchen, it was obvious that further preparation was required before _that_ venture. Besides, it was doubtful that he would have any appetite for a while.

As he left the house, he noticed he was missing something. As he moved back into the bedroom, he noticed it on a small shelf. His hitai-ate. He stared at it, having not worn one in years, and slowly wrapped it over his forehead, tying a neat knot in the back with trembling fingers. He withdrew a shaky breath.

It was like greeting an old friend.

 

* * *

 

Shikamaru sat at his usual desk. His hands crossed over the desktop and his chin rested on forearms. He scanned the room with lazy eyes, uncaring of his peers' antics. Sakura and Ino were fighting, like always, Chioji was crunching away at some chips, like always, Hinata was looking down and poking her fingers together, like always. Even though they were going to meet their Jounin-senseis today, these everyday habits were only accentuated by the underlying nervousness. Hopefully, he won't have Ino or Sakura on his team, or—please no—the both of them. He knew how unlikely that would be, but that would be simply too troublesome. A certain someone entering the classroom caught his attention.

“Naruto, what are _you_ doing _here?_ Only graduates are supposed to be here!”

“Forehead, he has a hitai-ate! What did you do, _dead-last_ , steal one?” Ino said.

“Yeah! Is this another prank, Naruto?!”

The boy in question sighed, but Shikamaru immediately noted his tense posture and stilted words. He looked as if a veneer of his usual exuberance was plastered across his face, thin and worn.

“No no, Sakura-chan. I got it through," Naruto hesitated, seeming to fumble his words, "...some extenuating circumstances.” His lips twitched upwards in a grotesque attempt at a reassuring grin, before falling back in a grimace. 

Shikamaru couldn’t help his own grimace as he analyzed the short but telling reaction. Something terrible must have happened to Naruto. Sakura clearly thought the same, if her sudden concern was any indication.

But her worry was all but forgotten as Sasuke walked in.

“Sasuke-kun! Sit with me!”

“NO! Sit with ME!”

The two girls quickly resumed their rivalry, lapsing back to their usual behaviors.

But his focus remained on Naruto. He looked relieved, glad to leave their attention. It went against everything he ever knew about Naruto. He always craved attention, both good and bad. Shikamaru couldn’t help the tendril of anxiety that curled in his stomach. What could have happened to the ever-cheerful fool to turn him to this?

The object of his scrutiny turned and there eyes made contact. Shikamaru flinched. His eyes were intense, sharp, analyzing. But there was a certain element of surprise to the widening eyes and tightening of his lips, as if he was seeing right through him. As if he was seeing a ghost. His eyes, usually alight with mischief, were hollow, exhausted.

Shikamaru flinched, eyes widening. What could have happened? Surely even Ino, a Yamanaka, must have noticed something off! But as his eyes flickered to her, he realized that whatever was afflicting his age mate was of no interest to her. It was of not interest to anyone in the room. Except him.

As he thought about it, it seemed as if that the whole village had turned a blind eye to the orange prankster. Whether from the quick change of subject when he asked his parents about his peer’s heritage—those whisker marks had irked his interest—to the time he witnessed a storeowner refused to serve Naruto, all of it was leading to a startling conclusion. Before he could delve further into this line of thought, Naruto was up the aisle, a questioning tilt to his unnerving expression. Shikamaru was confused for a moment, but then noted the empty spot beside him. He scooted over, and gestured to the seat. Naruto replied with a short nod, and his mouth twitched into a small, but less forced, smile.  

Shikamaru felt as if he won a silent competition, proud for some irrational reason he could not explain. But all went to hell when Sasuke sat on the row behind Naruto. He tensed, eyes wide and body ridged, breaths coming fast. For a moment, Shikamaru thought Naruto was about to have a panic attack. But then Sakura and Ino’s incessant screeching broke the moment, and Shikamaru must have been imagining things as Naruto looked strangely emotionless.

But from there, things took a turn for the worst—much worse. Shikamaru was, unfortunately, sitting right underneath Ino and Sakura’s _squabbling_ and managed to push him right into Naruto. Naruto was facing forward, something akin to contemplation crossing his face, but Shikamaru couldn't give much thought to that at the moment. Needless to say, Naruto didn't notice until it was a bit too late. A second before their collision, Naruto turned to face him, a look of alarm on his face. He tried putting his arms out to push him back, but it was too late. Shikamaru wished he could say that their foreheads collided.

Their lips collided with a loud _smooch._ It seemed as though all sound stopped for a long second, before the bomb crashed, so to speak. Everyone looked at them with either horror or mirth, some both. Sakura and Ino looked on as if witnessing the craziest phenomenon in all existence. Hinata fainted, face tomato red. Kiba was laughing his ass off, and Sasuke looked vaguely relieved, for once not being the center of attention. And Shikamaru was absolutely mortified.

He looked back at Naruto, but all he saw furrowed brows, and a strange look off to the side. Shikamaru’s ears picked up faint mutterings, but when Shikamaru looked at him red-faced, all he saw was a strongly composed expression, completely unreadable. 

Before Shikamaru could start deciphering what _that_ meant, he was interrupted Kiba’s wolf whistle. Shikamaru returned a glare with disturbing amounts of killing intent for a genin. Kiba visually jumped back, frightened by the usually laid-back teen. Naruto looked at their exchange, snorted, and sat back down as if nothing ever happened.

Shikamaru attempted to demonstrate the same blasé attitude, but couldn’t help glancing over at Naruto every so often, trying to gauge his reaction—or lack of one. Naruto caught notice of this, and whispered, “Fake it ‘til you make it, right?”

“I'll try that,” he answered.

_Fake it ‘til you make it…_ Shikamaru thought hard on those words, the first and only sentence directly spoken to him today from Naruto. It seemed that Naruto was the embodiment of the saying. _Fake it ‘til you make it…_ he wondered how long Naruto has been following that mantra.

Tch, how troublesome.

 


	3. Risk Taking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto goes to the Academy for the last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited: July 29th, 2017

As Naruto ambled through the village, he noticed things he had never considered in his former life; the new coats of paint on the buildings, whereas all Naruto remembered was the chipping pieces of faded walls, and a _lightness_ in the air, the oppressive nature of war and fear of the next attack _gone_. And yet his perspective was tampered with life experience, drastically different from his naïve youth. What he believed was irrational hatred throughout his childhood, unjustifiable and petty, was actually fear and grief. The glares were a result of something more than straightforward hatred. To the villagers, he was a walking reminder of the Kyuubi attack, the death of their beloved Hokage and decimation of their people. There wasn't a single villager who didn't know someone who died that night. By harassing him, they felt as if they were getting revenge for those loved ones, no matter how slight. It was a concept he came to understand over his long years: people were irrational in the face of grief. But he didn't remember any of this. Instead, his rose-colored memories of these days depicted a village nearly perfect in nature; one that will love and respect him if only he became a ninja.

Naruto continued without halting, the frightful side-glances making his lips curl up sardonically. He felt a certain lack of obligation towards these villagers that he had never even met. He simply didn't care about _making them respect him_. He had earned that respect and adoration in another life—and look at where it got him? (Everyone was _dead.)_ They could hate him forever and it wouldn’t matter; all he cared about were his precious people. As long as the villagers didn't get in his way, he would pay them little mind.

(He did care. He cared a lot. He had been their hero, a title he had taken for granted. A title he didn't deserve. Their fear was palpable, and he knew he deserved all of it. And yet pretending otherwise was easier.)

He abruptly changed his line of thought. (He refused to consider anything beyond his self-imposed mission. It would all be too much otherwise.) He considered this new—old—body. Its limitations. Its advantages. He could feel the chakra running through his coils with little concentration. Not nearly as dense as he was used to, and his chakra signature was _off_. It was almost abhorrent to realize that even his chakra, an energy that was always there, consistent in its nature and presence, was as foreign as his body. It was disgusting and unsettling, and he felt an irrational reluctance to even use it. (The fact that he had to use it to henge himself constantly made him twitch in revulsion.) His only recognizable— _natural, comforting_ —feature was Kurama's faint chakra coursing amongst his coils.

It was all he had to keep himself sane.

Physically, he was weak. His body was untrained, untampered by endless battles and strenuous training regimes. Knowing katas and techniques would help, but it did not translate into pure skill. If anything, though, it would lend credibility to him not being an imposter—the pits of Konoha's T&I department held little appeal to him. He needed to train; indiscreetly, if possible.

Naruto continued his stroll through the village, re-familiarizing himself with the streets. (And attempt not to dwell on the all-too-familiar faces.)

He made his way into the graduates' classroom and was immediately bombarded with flying accusations from Sakura and Ino. Naruto stumbled backward, momentarily overwhelmed and more than a little confused. He felt as if he was moving through water, peering through murky darkness. The difference between his precious people and these _children_ was staggering. Sakura would have never lowered herself to _assume_ such ridiculous truths. She would have observed from afar, and if that didn't work, come up close and verbally interrogate the subject of her ire. And Ino, while never as close to him, was an infamous interrogator, learning a man’s most guarded secret after minutes of talking — or just remorselessly digging through his brain. He could spot little of the people he once knew in the soon-to-be genin.

It then hit him that all those people he had known don't exist, and never will. All he knew was that he wanted to get away from these mockeries—put as many obstacles between him and these children and never look back. But doing so would be counterproductive to his goals. And so he calmed himself, focusing on the fact that these were his precious people, even if they _weren't_ yet.  

“... is this some sort of prank, Naruto?” Sakura’s yelling tugged him from his thoughts, and he floundered for a moment before dredging upon an appropriate response.

“No no, Sakura-chan. I got it through… extenuating circumstances,” he explained. He manipulated his mouth into a grin but was unable hold it for more than a second. The forgotten sting from his wiser marks flared back into attention at the movement.

He internally winced at his choice of words; the twelve-year-old him would never use such an extensive vocabulary, nevertheless even know what those words even meant.

This enacted a reaction from both Ino and Sakura. Sakura looked faintly worried, a suspicion forming in her eyes. And for a split second, Naruto saw _his_ Sakura. An adult, with a cool yet passionate gaze, a combination of brute strength, intelligence, and an ability to heal. But in a blink of an eye, the image disappeared, like a man in a parched desert finding an oasis only to realize it was a delusion brought by dehydration. Ino simply snorted, silently mouthing to herself about how _Naruto-baka was trying to be cool, like Sasuke-kun_.

Most wouldn't have heard, as she produced no sound other than a faint breath being shaped by the words she mouthed. But his acute senses could pick up those faint breaths. Coupled with his lip reading skills and knowledge about her obsession, it wasn't difficult to deduce her words.

His powerful senses seemed to have carried over to his younger body. They were, perhaps, even stronger than what he was used to. He remembered that as a child, he thought that everyone had the same abilities. Eventually, he realized that that was not the case, and in an effort to be like everyone else, he began ignoring them, purposefully going against them, even. It was only later when he understood that he did himself more harm than good. He never learned to hone them, to strengthen this ability into a weapon, an advantage. By the time he was an adult, his senses werr blunted, deteriorated from the progression of age and misuse.

His thoughts jolted back to the present when Ino and Sakura’s short lasting fixation on him ended and turned to the all-powerful obsession known as _Sasuke-kun._

With their attention off of him, he could finally attempt to find a seat. As his eyes scanned the room (not acknowledging many of the too-familiar faces), his gaze caught on Shikamaru's. The Nara was blatantly scrutinizing him as if Naruto was an enigma worth solving.

As a child, Naruto seldom acknowledged the Nara as anything more than a passing acquaintance. It was only once Shikamaru was promoted to head of strategy when Naruto learned exactly how vastly intelligent the shinobi was. Once, Shikamaru and himself were co-captains on an assault mission, and the enemy outnumbered them five to one. But then came a brilliant strategy that won them an impossible battle. So Naruto knew single-handedly how smart Shikamaru was, (and how it was a terrible idea to interact with him if he didn't want to risk being found out). He also knew he was horribly impulsive and such a risk wouldn't stop him from talking to a more mature and intelligent peer. It may seem strange for him to interact with the lazy Nara, but Naruto knew that he would need assistance in the future, and the genius _probably_ won't bail him out due to his sheer laziness. Or so he hoped.

Without thinking it out, he approached the perceptive adolescent and gestured to the adjacent seat. Naruto received a nod, and Shikamaru moved to accommodate him at the desk.

But no matter how well he knew the battle-hardened Shikamaru, this young version was an unknown. An unknown is a risk, a gamble in which Naruto just drew his cards, dealt his fate.

And Naruto could only hope for a good hand.

 

* * *

 

 

Iruka stood on the small podium in front of the class, announcing the team arrangements. Naruto spared a brief moment to contemplate what happened to all the other genin—because there were far more students present then the “Konoha nine,” as they were once dubbed—and it's statistically improbable that even if they all failed, they didn't have some other shinobi application.

“Ok, next is Team Seven: Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto,” at this, Sakura made her displeasure obvious, “and Uchiha Sasuke.“ Sakura's previous displeasure was quickly replaced with elation. Naruto remained outwardly stoic.

“Quiet!” Iruka-sensei yelled in response to many of the potential kunoichi's outbursts. “Now, onto the next team.”

Until that moment, Naruto had ignored Iruka’s presence. The academy teacher was one of his first precious people. But to Iruka, it was mere days since he spoke to Naruto, since he was willing to lay down his life for him in defense to Mizuki. To Naruto, it was years. And throughout that time, Iruka’s importance to him waned, growing apart due to duties and war and then his death. He never mourned, thrust into the next conflict until the first person who ever cared for him faded from the forefront of his mind. So while avoiding contact was suspicious, anything more forward would be a confirmation. (No matter how much he wanted to.)

He was already on the receiving end of concerned glances.

Yet he had to prepare himself for the inevitable meeting with Iruka, to come up with feasible excuses for his actions. Not that that was much of a challenge. The Nine-tails’ timing was spot on in that regard. A day after a traumatizing event, before any preventable deaths. The only slight problem with the entire scenario was that most of his precious people were inexperienced naïve brats that only knew him by his infamous reputation as a prankster and overall troublemaker.

The next half hour went by with the jounin-sensei walking in one by one, calling out for their team and escorting them to a meeting spot. Each jounin came in with varying levels of enthusiasm—few like Kurenai, looking pleased with the genin they were assigned—but the majority, especially the ones assigned to the non-clan affiliated graduates, displayed annoyance at the task.

The room slowly emptied; conversation muted to an underlying tension in the room. Shikamaru looked content just sulking in his chair, completely ignoring Naruto’s existence. Shikamaru's chagrined expression whenever he made eye contact made up for the previous _event_. For as far as Naruto had known the head strategist, the Nara had always been reserved about his emotions. It was logical. And emotional decisions were not logical. (Not that Naruto hasn't made his own fair share of those.)

He remembered the way emotional detachment was encouraged by certain shinobi. By the elders.

Danzo.

_He_ was the reason so many catastrophic events ever happened, the reason intelligence always came too late, why so many were brainwashed to follow him. And the reason so many of his friends died on _supposedly_ simple missions. He had his fingers hooked in every dark crevice, playing his puppets to his tune, his influence slowly seeping into the bright tree that was Konoha, and _strangling_. He slowly drew more and more power from the Hokage, pulling himself higher and higher, that when one of his _allies_ turned on him, Naruto was grateful. The other elders were guilty by association, knowing his defiance to the Hokage, yet silently standing by her side without ever mentioning a thing. Naruto had evidence of his actions, by the end, but there was no one to give it to, no one to accuse but a corpse. All he had were dusty records in a forgotten root base. Now he didn't even have that.

After all the teams have been called, team seven being an exception, Iruka addressed the trio.

“Your sensei seems to be arriving late,” he looked off with a sigh, “and I have to leave. I’m _sure_ that the three of you could handle yourselves until he arrives. I have a class to teach. Stay _here_ and _please_ don't break or mess with anything, Naruto.”

Naruto plastered on an innocent smile in response. It was lackluster, bland and obviously fake.

Iruka’s brow furrowed and mouth pursed into a long, thin line. He made a motion as if going to speak out about his unusual behavior, but then noticed the room’s other occupants and shut his mouth back with a snap.

Sakura, misinterpreting the exchange, exclaimed, “Don't worry Iruka-sensei! I'll keep an eye on Naruto!”

Iruka humored her, mouth quirking up in amusement: “Alright Sakura-chan, I'll trust you with the task.”

He cast one last long look at the room’s occupants, lingering over Naruto, and then strode out the classroom.

For a moment, the room was silent, all three occupants assessing each other.

The silence was broken to Sakura's infatuation. “Sasuke-kun! Isn't it so exciting that we're on the same team?!”

A gruff “hn” was all she got, and the room slipped into an uneasy silence, habitually interrupted by Sakura's attempts at gaining Sasuke's attention.

Sasuke. Naruto remembered the way he was before he was overtaken by that snake. Cold. Ambitious. Desperate. But Naruto never saw that. He had seen a rival, a friend, someone he could save. Someone whom he _didn't_ save. One of the many. (He had a second chance; he had to continuously remind himself.)

“But I'm on the team too, right Sakura-san?” Naruto eventually interjected.

She looked confused at the way he addressed her but quickly shook it off. But he garnered Sasuke’s attention.

“ _You_ probably won't make it past the first day,” she taunted, “Then I'll be with Sasuke for-ev-er!”

Sasuke winced at her declaration but kept his analyzing gaze on Naruto. Naruto couldn't call _this_ Sakura, Sakura-chan. Not only did it imply that he infatuated with her—which made Naruto shudder with revulsion—but this Sakura wasn't _his_ Sakura, and never would be. And, he speculated, most of Sakura’s aversion to him was likely due to his obsessive crush. (Much like her own to Sasuke, he noted ironically.)

“Dobe, what's wrong with you?” A lack of inflection turned Sasuke's inquiry into an accusation.

_Dobe, hah!_ Nobody has called Naruto that in years, and clearly, time has only watered down his emotional response to that particular insult. Who would care about something so petty if they’ve lived through what he has? (Besides, _dobe_ does apply to him, as he was essentially _dead last_ of all his friends. Of course, he hasn't quite gotten to the dead part yet.)

“What are you talking about?” Naruto attempted to deflect.

“You have been acting really strange today, did something happen?” Sakura inquired, a genuine concern coloring her words that was hastily masked, “Not that I actually care or anything.”

“Nothing, honest.”

Sakura squinted at him before her eyes widened and she further questioned, “So, how did you graduate then?”

He took a deep breath before answering, “There was a second test given to me. I've already attempted the test three times, and failed, so-”

“I've never heard of such a thing in my life.” Sasuke cut in, eyes narrowed.

Naruto bluffed, “Fine, fine. Honestly, it's because I have a large chakra capacity, and they thought it would be a waste to kick me out just ‘cause of an inability to create a simple bunshin.”  

Sakura's light gasp was the only audible reaction, and the room lapsed back into silence. Naruto let himself fall forward, folding his arms on the desk and laying his head atop them, forearms pressing into eye sockets in an attempt to relieve his headache.

The next hour was spent in an attempt to plan. Now that he found himself in his past—by either reality or genjutsu—he had to come up with a semblance of something. One quickly discarded option was to simply leave. He could henge into someone else and be free from all obligations to the village. No hateful comments, no commitments, no suspicions. But he didn't work that way, he had too many ties and loyalties to the village. As much as free-roaming sounds like the best option (for himself), he would be turning his back on all his precious people. He would also be removing the Kyuubi from the village, making Konohagakure susceptible to invasion or attacks from other villages. He might draw the attention of the Akatsuki away from the village, but that would also put him in a position where he couldn't help if they ever did attack Konoha. No, staying in Konoha was the best option.

The other option was to continuously dodge accusations from his peers, and continue as an active shinobi of Konoha. He will re-befriend his precious people, whether from his village or another, and integrate himself into his team.

(He remembered, in his first run through life, how excited he was about his team, about how great they would obviously become. Of course, most of the time he spent arguing with Sasuke and being put down by Sakura, but sometimes, in his more thoughtful moments, he stepped back and basked in that feeling of comradeship. He never had a family, but he would bet that that was as close as he would ever get. And he wanted to preserve that, this time around.

All that was ruined when Sasuke abandoned the village, giving a madman his body to fulfill his _ambitions,_ not caring about the consequences. And the second he did finally kill his brother, his body was forfeit. His actions resulted in Kakashi distancing himself (becoming convinced that any team of his would a disaster in the making), and team seven splitting up. They had made it to a crossroad, but each took a different turn.)

His teammates were rather bothersome, not to mention Kakashi and his _quirks,_ but he wanted a world where they stayed united. Not dead.

Maybe this was actually the “moon plan” coming to completion, but that was supposed to guarantee happiness, not complex emotions and _time travel._

The second option was overall superior in the end, yet far more complicated to accomplish. But what was he, if not determined?

 

* * *

 

 

He eyed his surroundings wearily as he walked the long hallway. Team Seven. The infamous Team Seven. If he could, he would have walked the other way, failing the bunch of brats and moving on, as he had six times already. He didn't have that choice. It seemed as if, as the last remnant of the former team seven, he had been saddled with the responsibility of carrying on the torch. A jinchuuriki and the last Uchiha: he couldn't fail them. Not according to the council.

He walked into the classroom, immediately searching out any traps or pranks. (For some particular reason, his tardiness inspired academy students into a hight of stupidity.) He was on edge when he couldn't find any. It didn't match the profiles of these genin-hopefuls. He cast away all concerns as he stepped into the room, calling the genin into attention.

“Yo.”

The reaction was immediate. The pink haired one, Haruno Sakura, quickly looked up from the brood-ish one and then glared up at him for disrupting. She quickly realized who he was, her face flushing in alarm as she stammered an apology. The brooding one, the last Uchiha, looked disinterested. (Arrogance was a hazard in a shinobi.) And the orange-jacketed one, Naruto, startled from his hunched form, his eyes slightly wild and hand hovering over his weapons pouch. That was definitely _not_ what his profiling described him as. He was supposed to be the one who pranked him at the door, not the one who attacked him.

But then his body un-tensed, his hand slackened, and he let out a sigh. His lips pressed together in a tight line, and his eyes narrowed with conflicting emotions. _Not_ the happy-go-lucky prankster his profile emphasized.

Well, well, well. This team will certainly keep him on his toes, or at the very least, provide _some_ entertainment.

“My first impression is… you're _interesting”_


	4. Post Acadamy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto and co meet Kakashi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edited 10/4/2017

"Meet me on the roof in two minutes," Kakashi said flippantly before body flickering away.

Naruto climbed the stairs, trailing behind Sakura's panicked sprint. Sasuke deftly slipped out the window.

In mere minutes they would introduce themselves to Kakashi; Naruto had to pull his act together by then. He couldn't let his hair-trigger reflexes, honed by years of combat and an instilled paranoia, have the best of him. He couldn't pull out a kunai whenever someone startles him, anticipate for an incoming barrage when none were coming. He couldn't react as if he knew combat, period. (It was impossible, he knew.) He was just an academy graduate, dead last at that.

Emotionally, he was no better. Kakashi hadn't changed in appearance nor mentality over the years, making for a disturbing déjà vu. On one hand, Naruto still grieved for a mutilated corpse, but at the same time, Kakashi was clearly present and alive. And logic didn't dictate emotion, he knew, not for a lack of trying. He _knew_ Kakashi was alive, yet no matter all the evidence his senses provided, he still felt it was all a mirage—for all that he wanted to believe they were real, they felt like ghosts of those he failed to save.

Sakura opened the door to the roof, rushing out to beat the time constraint. The six-story building overlooked the crowded village, giving a clear vantage point over the bustling streets spanning from the adjacent Hokage tower. Kakashi-sensei was leaning against the railing, back to the buzz of village life, face firmly concealed behind an orange book. (Naruto firmly shifted his train of thought, knowing that delving further and thinking about _him_ would lead to a breakdown.)

He wondered how he would introduce himself. Though hazy memories, he remembered his unending enthusiasm about being appointed as Hokage, dating Sakura, eating ramen. His enthusiasm had waned since then. He had no ambition to become Hokage this time around—what was the point if everyone he wanted to protect were dead? And even the thought of thinking about Sakura that way made him shudder in disgust. Not only was she far younger in terms of life experience and maturity than him, but this Sakura was a completely warped version of who he had once known. Besides, he had eventually realized that his childhood crush was just him confusing a want for friendship with lust. Eventually, Naruto simply thought of her as an older sister — a brash, impulsive older sister who couldn't shut her mouth but was always there when he needed her. Perhaps ramen was his only relatable attribute to his youth, and even then Naruto hasn't had the commodity in years. (Strangely enough, it was the way he associated ramen with his precious people that made the food so appealing. And nostalgic.)

A bland, disinterested voice made itself known once both he and Sakura found their way to the roof.

"Took you long enough," Kakashi then gestured in their general direction, face stuck behind his book. "Alright, introductions."

When Sakura looked at Kakashi blankly, he amended, "Introduce yourselves. Pink-hair, go first,"

"Don't call me that!" She screeched.

"Well, that's what introductions are for, Pinky. You know, dislikes, likes, hobbies, interests, dreams, name..." He loosely waved his hand.

"Well," she retorted, "Why don't you introduce yourself first then!"

He gave her an incredulous raised eyebrow from over the top of his book: "Hatake Kakashi. I have many interests, hobbies—none of which you need to know—and few dislikes. As for dreams… none of your business."

She looked at Sasuke and Naruto, but finding no assistance from them, she accused, "That didn't tell us anything about you!"

She was hurting Naruto's sensitive ears. Honestly, what had warranted so much screaming? The wait? It probably was, now that he was thinking about it. He himself had zoned out over the long two hours, and assumed that Sasuke had done the same; Sakura must have been too high strung to do so. There was a clear strategic reason for always coming late, Naruto had once figured out; laziness caused others to underestimate the lazy individual. However, it seemed that Kakashi had another reason for this tactic: intimidation and anger. Both of these feelings could put an enemy shinobi at a disadvantage, making them lose confidence and make rash decisions. He found it vaguely interesting that even now, he was learning new things about his former (current) sensei.

"So, now that I've introduced myself, will you finally get on with your own introduction, Pinky?" Kakashi said.

"Fine, fine! My name is Haruno Sakura, I'm the top kunoichi in the academy," she said haughtily, "and my hobbies are," she glanced at Sasuke, "And dreams," she giggled to herself, fanning her reddening face with her hand, "And I hate Ino-pig and Naruto-baka!!"

Naruto could make out an annoyed huff from their future sensei, and couldn't help but agree. That was rather pathetic. She needed to grow up. (He immediately felt guilty, remembering just exactly how she grew up.)

"Uchiha, you next," 

"Hn. I like training, I don't like sweets and idiots," At this, he glanced at both teammates, "And I have an ambition, one could say, to kill a certain man and rebuild my clan."  
And then it was Naruto's turn.

"Finally, dead-last, your turn."

He had a moment of panic over a proper response. But then an idea came to him, and he couldn't resist:

"Uzumaki Naruto. I have some interests, dislikes, dreams... don't you have our academy profiles? It should have the complete information about us."

He could come up with many conceivable reasons as to why Kakashi would ask them for their own input, but he doesn't need to know that.

He received a side glance from Kakashi, while both Sasuke and Sakura twitched in irritation.

"Maa maa, you're ruining my fun."  
  
He dismissed them with a warning to not eat breakfast before tomorrow's training exercise.

 

* * *

 

He got a strange batch of genin this time. The Uchiha and his fangirl closely matched their files (which Uzumaki so kindly pointed out). But the blond's behavior conflicted with the numerous reports written about him. Not only was he a notable prankster, but stubborn and excitable were two of the kindest traits describing him. Neither of which he demonstrated in the short time Kakashi has interacted with him. Some would put it down as nerves, but Kakashi wasn't one of those people. Despite their short meeting—because of their short meeting—Kakashi got a basic personality assessment on these genin hopefuls (who was he kidding? The council handed him this bunch for a reason). The fact that the personality description of a jinchuuriki didn't match reality was irksome, especially due to the amount of surveillance Uzumaki's position put on him.

But it went farther than that. The container took several tries to pass the initial standard genin test—only passing it through unconventional means. The reports repeatedly pointed out his abysmal taijutsu and chakra control. Uzumaki's trigger-finger reflexes made it obvious to Kakashi that the former could not be the case. The latter could be an easy fix, as chakra control is instilled with practice and repetition. Large reserves, despite difficult to control, were efficient for larger scale jutsu—overcoming the weakness of the poor chakra control. He found it concerning that such potentially vital information was so skewed. If he could tell something was off within a few minutes, he knew there must be something incredibly off about either the report or about the jinchuuriki. Both were disturbing prospects.

The same could be said about the reports of the other two, to some extent. Haruno Sakura's attitude alone made him wonder how she received the "top kunoichi" designation. Besides being civilian born, she had a debilitating obsession with her teammate. One that seems to overshadow all other common sense. Many would call it a simple phase, but others, particularly kunoichi he's worked with, would equate it to something far more sinister. And he agreed. If her situational awareness was so negatively impacted by just the presence of her teammate, he wondered what would happen in a more dire situation. One where the said teammate was injured in combat. She wouldn't have passed even the entrance exam if she didn't have potential (civilians were quickly rooted out; only those particularly exceptional are allowed to progress so far into the program), nor be put on the same team as the "Last Uchiha," but her focus on one teammate and dismissal of the other would endanger the rest of the team if not stamped out.

And Uchiha Sasuke was a walking disaster in the making. Arrogant, no ties to the village, set on a goal that would lead him far beyond the village walls if not death. His only "ambition" was to kill his brother. And like the other genin-hopefuls, his academy file neglects to mention certain characteristics. Such as a psych evaluation any time in the past three years. As someone with such a high profile in the village, annual evaluations should have taken care of, especially for someone of these circumstances. But there weren't, and it gave him a bad feeling. (It couldn't be that the Uchiha was simply left to his own devices these past few years, could it?)

Each a future shinobi with a plethora of issues shoved under his care to be molded. It was his duty to the village to teach them, despite his reservations.

  

* * *

 

Hours later, Naruto found himself curled up on the flimsy couch in the apartment. The cushions were so worn due to age and misuse that Naruto felt the protruding springs and wooden frame starkly across his back. It didn't matter to him, as the shock of the day finally setting in.

The only way he coped was by representing these strangers' likening to his precious people. But that was only a temporary solution. Very temporary. Twelve hours later and he was already cracking around the edges.

He could barely make eye contact with all those familiar faces; the lack of recognition was killing him. Shikamaru was slightly easier, as he never knew him at this age—there was nothing to trip up on, no expectations before he realized that, yeah, all that he lived through, never happened. Never will happen exactly the same. His mind couldn't replace Shikamaru with someone he's never met.

The misery of losing all that is important will stay with him.

He probably looked stupid to Kakashi(-sensei) earlier, the odd way he tried to answer questions and his inability to look him in the eye. But he had had to keep his mind on frivolous subjects, away from thinking too deeply about what was going around him. About who was around him. Now he has too much time in this small, unkempt apartment, on this worn couch that he couldn't even remember how he got.

The constant déjà vu messed with his mind: he's done all this already; nothing would ever change. For a moment he had thought he had seens someone familiar, a comforting face in a crowd of strangers, but once they turn he had seen their unrecognized eyes and knew that he was truly alone. This had happened continuously throughout the day, a precious person spotted in his peripheral vision, then tamping down on the urge to cry out to them. Because they were dead, a voice continually reminded him, everyone you see is imposters. He understood that they were the same people, but at the same time, they weren't the people he knew. They weren't the people he cared about.

The people he was surrounded with, however, didn't deserve to die. He owed it to all his precious people that, even if they didn't remember him, he would keep them alive. He wanted (needed) them alive. They deserve to stay alive. He wouldn't fail them, not like he had before.

He wouldn't be able to save anyone. He is too impulsive, he'll muck up this whole timeline, bring it to an even worse ending. Knowing him, it's definitely plausible; likely even. (He hates the Kyuubi for doing this, for forcing his hand. The second he arrived and already bloodied his hands. And now, whenever he talks to someone, he'll feel like he's cheating someone — namely a child who never did anything wrong except for wanting respect from those around him.)

He muffled a broken sob into a fist, eyes burning with unshed tears.

In light of the recent events, it was easy to forget that it hasn't been even a full day since so many of his allies and precious people died. Died for a cause that doesn't even exist anymore because he gave up and-and ran off into the past. All their efforts were in vain. And his punishment was to be driven insane by all these dead (not yet) people. And for what, so that the Kyuubi would have some entertainment?

Naruto muffled a strangled screech into a cushion.

(He was all alone. Not even Kurama's frequent drone was there to keep him company. He deserved it.)

He didn't shift as the cushion soaked with tears, his curled up frame shivering as he was completely encompassed by his thoughts. There were much more productive things he should be doing. Planning, fixing the apartment, eating. But he couldn't dredge up any motivation to get up. And yet any illusion of rest evaded him. He was too restless to sleep, and the threat of upcoming nightmares put him off from even trying. He knew sleep would catch up to him and could leave him in a vulnerable position, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

The lack of sleep and food would lead to a poor performance during the test. But, that wouldn't be a bad thing in this case. He always had difficulty holding back, and a physical inability may be the key to overcoming that obstacle. And, he thought groggily, if everything he has done so far led to everyone's death, why shouldn't he change something up? Perhaps he didn't even want to graduate.

But his sleepless musings couldn't last forever, and he was plunged into an involuntary sleep.

 

* * *

 

_‘Naruto' a breezy, feminine voice called, ‘always taking the easy way out,'_

_A_ body _stepped out of the fog. A leg, then an arm. Then that accursed pink hair. And she was small, much shorter than he remembered. But that kunai was still lodged through the side of her head, clotting blood and gray matter matted in her hair._

_And those accusing green eyes staring in contempt._

_‘My, after all that effort I put into you — tch, what a disappointment.' The disembodied voice echoed, taunting._

_A second figure stepped out of the haze. Long white hair, red marks trailing out of eyes. A haunting face. A Sannin. Ero-sennin._

_A thick rod wedged through his stomach, a face wide in bemusement._

_‘All that work, thrown back at my face. You never amounted to anything important.'_

_More stepped into sight, taunting, accusing, looking through hollow eyes._

_‘Deserter'_

_‘Disappointment'_

_‘Monster'_

_Reanimated bodies formed into an endless blur, all-encompassing, ever moving closer, clawing at his skin._

_Not your skin._

_Stop it._

_You led us to death, we'll lead you to yours._

_'Stop'_

_Join us_

"Stop It!"

 

* * *

 

He woke violently, limbs flung haphazardly. It was a wonder he hasn't fallen off the couch. But he could feel the thickness in the air, his chakra expelled, reacting to the mental stimuli.

His muscles were cramped, his eyes and mouth dry, and head hurt. He took his surroundings with blurry trepidation, not quite sure the past events truly happened.  
He heaved himself up, arms shivering unsteadily. He callously rubbed at his eyes with his hand, mind reprocessing the past events. He must have fallen asleep, despite his reservations. And he felt all the worse for it. Even in his sleep, peace evaded him.

He huffed out a thin breath and spotted a clock: quarter to seven. At this rate, he would be late. They were told to be at the third training ground by seven, but Kakashi will clearly arrive two hours late at the very least. No harm if he follows his example, if to a much lesser degree.

He wadded his way to the bathroom, heavily assisted by the wall. He was still in his clothes from the day before, having not removing them prior to throwing himself on the couch and hoping it was all a genjutsu. The clothes were damp with sweat and rumpled from a night of twisting and turning. He snuck a hesitant glance at the mirror and promptly deemed himself unfit to be seen. He couldn't freak everyone out before officially becoming a genin: cementing his place in the village. The henge dissipated overnight, leaving him with glazed amethyst eyes surrounded by dark circles. He could put a henge up to cover his whole face, but then it would become too obvious that something was off. Even the most minuscule of mistakes would alert Kakashi that he was hiding something. Besides, he was alarmingly unfamiliar with how this face looked healthy to put up an entirely convincing henge. His eyes remain the same over the years, but not much else.

He turned to the shower. Taking one would clear his head and refresh him. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd taken one. Striping down and turning the water to the hottest setting, he was relishing the heated water cascading down his back. If the water was too hot, if he scrubbed a bit too harshly, well, there was no one to stop him.  
Approximately ten minutes later the water turned frigid and he had to end the brief moment relaxation. He dug through his meek closet but found little to suitably replace his other garment. Because wearing civilian clothes would be beyond questionable, he'd have to wear the ones from the day before. Getting new ones was moved up to first priority. He got dressed, reapplied the henge, and took all the usable combat equipment with him. He was rather good at traps, and he was known as a prankster. That leap in logic should be fairly obvious to most. But he didn't want to show his entire hand.

He knew he appeared as if he hasn't slept in weeks, and he felt like it too, but he hoped that his teammates won't notice—however unlikely that was.

 

* * *

 

If Sasuke wasn't so disciplined, he would have taken a double take at the dobe's appearance. But he was, so the narrowing of his eyes and thinning of his mouth was all he physically showed.

He had expected his future sensei to be late, following the pattern from yesterday, but he would have thought the blond would be eager to learn some new "jutsus".  
He had noticed something was off, the day before, but now it looks like Naruto took an all-nighter and then some. His hair was wet, untamed and spiking into his eyes, which only made the bruises beneath his eyes more pronounced. He personally knew the feeling (not that he was sympathizing) but Naruto shouldn't look like that. Even Sakura was frowning in concern, and she was usually oblivious to everything. She wasn't even begrudging him for being late. It was off-putting, seeing the most cheerful, hyper person he had ever had the displeasure of meeting, and then witnessing him at his polar opposite.

He just hoped that the dobe won't hold him back with his problems.

Sakura seemed to have gotten over her momentary shock, but he gave her a short glare before she could open her mouth. He doubted that antagonizing the blond would do anyone any good.

He got a quick quirk of the lips from the idiot, but it fell to a grimace. Sasuke glared back at him, but his furrowed brow betrayed his worry. He gave his usual noise of acknowledgment and turned back to his previous brooding.

What could have happened to that boisterous blond? He decided that he would keep an eye on him, for absolutely no reason other than observation.

Kakashi, as late as expected, finally arrived. But Naruto's attention strangely flickered to the right, just where the jonin arrived, half a second earlier. Kakashi seemed to have noticed as well, if his quizzical glance at Naruto meant anything. A quizzical glance that turned into a full out inspection.

Kakashi let out a sigh, "Naruto, are you sick? Will you make me delay this training exercise?" _And waste my time_ , was clearly implied.

That was suspiciously nice of the late jonin; as a ninja, they must be ready for all scenarios.

As if sensing his thoughts, Kakashi added, "Don't get your hopes up yet, shinobi do everything for a reason. I've been provided with a certain incentive to give you three decent chance at passing beyond this point. Otherwise, I would've failed you after introductions. I've been burdened with six other teams, and I've failed all of them.

"Naruto?" He reaffirmed.

"Yes- I mean no! That's not necessary. I'm just a bit sick, that's all. Must've had bad milk or something…"

That sounded exactly like something the dobe would do, but the fidgeting of his hands and the overall _weariness_  that surrounded him contradicted the truthfulness of the statement.

Kakashi gave a shrug, showing that he couldn't care any less. He then procured a pair of bells, and dangled them in the air: "The test goes as follows; if you get a bell, you become my minion- I mean genin. If not, back to the academy you go!" He sounded delighted at the prospect, "There are a few hour time limit and the timer will go off when I'm done with you. Come at me with an intent to kill, or you won't get anywhere."

"But there are only two bells!?"

"Very observant, only two of you can pass." He said with a deadpan.

"But we'll hurt you if we all try to kill you!"

At this, Naruto snorted, a puff of mock laughter escaping his mouth: "As if."

Sakura turned to glare, but she fell short at Naruto's disheveled appearance. For that, he couldn't completely fault her. He felt something off around the dobe as well.

The jonin gave the bells a jingle, and announced, "The timer's set for two hours. I'll give two of you something to eat if you have the best performance. The test starts in three,"

Sasuke tensed, hand gripping a kunai.

"Two,"

Sakura turned for the bushes.

"One."  



	5. No Matter What

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beloved bell test

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written a fight, nor participated in one… *hides behind computer* don't kill me! I actually had to rewrite some parts. 
> 
> Warning- may defy laws of physics  
> Edited: 11/19/17

Kakashi dangled the pair of bells, their gentle chiming unnervingly loud in contrast to the stillness of the clearing. He held them up for a curious moment, sparing the genin an extra second to get away, before hanging them on his belt and flipping out his book.  
  
Sasuke and Sakura jumped out of the fray—to absolutely none of his surprise—as per the academy standard (and a shred of common sense) would dictate for such a scenario. But the third teammate peeked his interest; Uzumaki remained in place for an additional moment, contemplation written across his face. Kakashi doubted anything would come of it, just another misguided attempt by an overconfident genin-hopeful. (That didn't negate the fact that he felt a spark of hope at the unexpected move, that maybe the genin he's been saddled with will exceed his expectations, or at the very least make things interesting for him until they inevitably become chunin or die.) But real combat didn't have a place for hesitation.  
  
“I could have killed you forty different times already in just as many different ways. You've made it very clear that you're not at your best, but even the dead-last of his class should know better,” Kakashi said, attempting to glean out the blond's motivation through his sharp words.  
  
For someone in his position, said dead-last didn't seem very impressed. (Kakashi, however, noted that the blond still refused to make eye contact with him. Another oddity.) The genin-hopeful shrugged, before reciting disinterestedly: “A shinobi must complete their mission, no matter their own condition,” he flinched before adding, "and I'm not dead yet, I don't think."  
  
It was the very shinobi rule that Kakashi both scoffed at and cursed. It was the rule he generally dismissed as more as a guideline than an imperative. It was the rule that he himself recited as a child as a mantra. (And it was the rule that cost him so many lives and would cost him many more.)  
  
But this recitation wasn't enough to make him draw unsettling parallels. It was just another line in the list of irregularities. A dumb prankster should never have been able to sense his presence before Kakashi unmasked it nor memorize the shinobi rules nor mask even their own presence quite so well. It seemed more and more likely that someone attempted to sabotage him in the academy (or he was an impressive actor). He wouldn't be surprised. The possibility that he was an imposter flitted through his mind, but the distinct malevolent chakra the container gave off refuted that particular hypothesis. And the notion that he could be taken over by the Kyuubi without it being obvious was so absurd, it was illogical how vast the belief was in the village. Even from his (perhaps not-so-)minimal understanding of seals, he understood how tight the seal was; how many fail safes upon fail safes the seal was comprised of. Besides, he trusted in his former sensei.  
  
But the one-man showdown, the willingness to attack while clearly knowing that he would lose was worrisome. Some may consider it a good sign to be that dedicated, but Kakashi was of a different opinion (despite its hypocrisy). Such actions only put oneself's and their teammates in jeopardy.  
  
Uzumaki’s lacking introduction didn't supply Kakashi with enough information about his opinion of the rest of the team—unlike the other two's clear objection. If he is of the same opinion as of the others, then they had no hope of passing. (The council could just find another jounin-sensei, for all he cared).  
  
“Maa, maa, no need or that. Why didn't you follow your teammates?”  
  
The blond took a moment (that Kakashi generously provided) to compose an answer. “They'll refuse to work with me, I'm the dobe of the class; the class clown. Besides, neither like me very much. This test is about teamwork, right?”  
  
He yawned, stretching his arms up, one at a time. There was a kunai clenched firmly in his grip. Kakashi noted that minute tremors ran down the length of his arms, and when their gazes briefly caught, for the first time, Naruto's eyes were suspiciously glassy before he turned away. Kakashi felt a pang of worry. He was either sicker than he had said—though what could afflict the container of a bijuu?—or something was wrong with him. Kakashi put it down as a combination of both. He had heard about the other day's affairs. If (when) he becomes Kakashi’s genin, he'll have to keep an eye out for him.  
  
But this is the first time someone unraveled the puzzle behind those simple instructions so quickly. Looking underneath the underneath seemed to come quickly to the graduate.  
  
“How did you figure?” He kept the conversation going to gather more information.  
  
“There has never been a genin team with less than three genin—I've been chased by enough. And the two bells were clearly set up to pit us against one another. And the academy drilled us in the importance of teamwork, but it always seemed to lack any practical application…” Uzumaki trailed off.  
  
The jounin took that as a sign to proceed. The confrontation would be one-sided, as both parties had acknowledged, but this was the future-genin's opportunity to show off their skills.  
  
Kakashi moved his literature right back to the empty space it had formerly occupied, unknowingly lowering it during the conversation. He flung three kunai.  
  


 

* * *

  
  
Naruto understood Kakashi was going incredibly easy on him, but it made it no more easy for this unfamiliar body. His reach was entirely shot and his reflexes were unhoned. Comparatively to what he used to be, it was humiliating. The most he could do was jump out of the way from the kunai, and hastily deflect the one headed for his face with his own kunai. And even that was clumsy, his limbs jerking at the motion but not quite reaching. At least it looked like he was a rookie.  
  
He threw four shurikens in retaliation, his usual pinpoint accuracy wavering. And yet, his plan worked.  
  
He had summoned kage-bunshin and henged them into shuriken before he even arrived, to make up for his lack of weapons, and was now extremely grateful for it.  
  
The dodged shuriken puffed into clones, who in turn attacked Kakashi from point-blank range. It was futile, as expected, but it was a good show of skills. Perhaps if he's more skilled than last time, Kakashi would take them as his genin for more than just the council’s orders.  
  
And the longer the clones fought, the more information was sent back to Naruto once the clones popped. He already knew the proper forms inside and out, it was only adjusting his reach that was an issue. As muscle memory was just that, memory, Naruto's coordination improved by bounds and leaps with each clone.  
  
He quickly summoned twenty bunshin, half of which turned into kunai that were thrown by the remaining clones.  
  
In the short moment, before Kakashi was replaced with a log, Naruto could detect a faint surprise from the jounin. That was before Kakashi appeared right behind him and kicked his legs out from behind. Naruto landed on his hands and continued into a handspring, kicking out behind him. He could feel the tip of the sandal brushing against the fabric of his flak jacket before swinging forwards and landing on on the ground. Except his feet found no purchase against the dirt, rapidly sinking through the surface. But momentum was in his favor and his hands once again found themselves on the ground in front of him, legs swinging upwards out of the ground. (If he used a bit of chakra to reinforce his hands to the ground, no one would know.)  
  
Kakashi stood a few feet ahead of him, his face still obscured by his iconic orange book. “My, my. I'm impressed. But you won't be getting any bells at any rate.”  
  
Naruto gave a nod of understanding and followed it up with a shrug. “I'm sure you'll be fighting against us one by one, see what we got,”  
  
Kakashi looked up from his book in acknowledgment, before body flickering right up to Naruto and kicking him into a tree. Naruto sprang off the tree and landed back on the field, before once again sinking into the ground. This time, he was pulled down without a chance of escape. When he was trapped up to his neck, Kakashi looked down at him: “I wonder how you'll get out?”  
  
“I'll… figure... something... out-” he gasped. The constricted nature of the jutsu made it difficult to take more than shallow breaths.  
  
He was given an eye-smile and a leaf in the face for his efforts.  
  
He was alone, and trapped in the dirt: defenseless. He hated the feeling. Someone could walk up to him and easily behead him. He had to find a way to train. Soon.  
  
Something irked at him, an old memory. He knows that this never happened to him originally, but— it came to him suddenly. Sakura once told him about her experience in the bell test; they were on a mission together, and she wanted to break the tension. She told him how pathetically she performed, and how startled she was under a simple genjutsu. But what he remembered above all was what she had come upon afterward; Sasuke’s head. It emulated the genjutsu that she had been previously under and had traumatized her as a child. Naruto himself could only remember this conversation because it was the last one he had with her. Her last words were about her broken team.  
  
He found it amusing, in a strange, twisted way, that he replaced Sasuke in this scenario. He was the one who impressed Kakashi, the one who worried him. The one stuck in the dirt. Perhaps this means Kakashi would take him seriously, or he will be respected by the team. Perhaps the opposite; becoming so put off by him that they won't even tolerate him. He doesn't care either way.  
  
But he had garnered Kakashi’s attention—a surprisingly hard thing to come by at any given time. This would only lead to drastic changes away from what Naruto knew, but he was willing to sacrifice his former knowledge for a different world. Any other option would be better from that. No matter what.  
  


 

  
  
Sasuke didn't fair well.  
  
This jounin toyed with him. He even had the gall to use such a parody of a jutsu. On him!  
  
He knew it didn't befit him to be so outraged on behalf of something so crude, but for it to be used on him—  
  
He climbed out sputtering from the river, resisting the urge to clutch at– either way, he was better than this, damn it!  
  
This was something Naruto would fall for! He needed those bells, how else would he reach his ambitions? Both his teammates were useless and– he let out a strangled growl.  
  
He walked aimlessly back to the training field, his feet kicking at the ground. He took sadistic pleasure in the singed trees. It was unlike him, he knew, to lose his composure this way, but to be kicked down and made a fool out of, well, there was nobody to see. He wondered how the dobe and the fangirl were doing. He hoped they had it just as bad.  
  
His face was twitching, hands grasping at air at random intervals, when he saw a head. Just a head.  
  
He gave a startled inhale, mind briefly slipping to the carnage that was left by his- by that man. He immediately clutched at a kunai, eyes flickering every which way until he noticed the lack of blood. He gave an unsteady exhale. It was just Naruto. The idiot.  
  
He approached his face and noticed how his eyes were closed.  
  
“Naruto.”  
  
He flinched, eyes opened any flickered warily at him. He scowled, “I was concentrating,”  
  
“On what?”  
  
“This,” And he brought a hand up through the dirt, and used it to pull himself out. Sasuke didn't know what came over him, but he offered a hand. It was taken by a strong grip, as Naruto hoisted himself out.  
  
“Thanks,”  
  
“Hn” was all he offered. He inwardly berated himself; this was a potential enemy, a competitor. But then Sasuke was given a small quirk of the lips, and all internal protests quite. His shadowed eyes seemed to clear, and the heavy cloud that Sasuke hasn't even noticed until now, lightened. But the moment ended as soon as it came and Sasuke couldn't be sure if he just imagined it all.  
  
“Kakashi-san got to you too, huh,” Naruto pointed out his soaked clothes. Sasuke glared at him.  
  
“I bet Sakura-san had it just as bad,” the blond added.  
  
It was bad enough that he helped the dobe, now he had to help her? He had a refusal at the tip of his tongue, but Naruto's expression stopped him yet again. It may have been the challenge in his eyes or the determined tilt to his mouth, but there was something there that made Sasuke want to prove himself. To Naruto. (If nothing else, this should indicate that something was wrong).  
  
“Hn.”  
  
Naruto took this as consent and immediately began trekking into the woods. He didn't even look back at him, just expected him to follow.  
  
He cautiously complied, keeping a close eye on his surroundings. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled in paranoia; Kakashi would surely find it amusing to spontaneously attack them. There was safety in numbers, however. That was the only reason he was obliging the Dobe. But what was really strange was the way Naruto seemed to know exactly Sakura’s location.  
  
“How do you know where she is?” Are you sure you know where we're going?  
  
“She’s very loud.”  
  
Sasuke hasn't heard anything, but he may have been too far away or too occupied to have heard. But he was surprised Naruto could track her so far with just a sound.  
  
They found her unconscious by a tree.  
  
“So, Kakashi knocked her out. She got off lucky,” he said gruffly, with a hint of envy.  
  
“Wouldn’t be so sure about that. And she doesn't look hurt at all. I’d say it was a genjutsu.”  
  
Sasuke tried to contain his flinch. He had a slight aversion to genjutsu. For obvious reasons.  
  
“She's probably unconscious ‘cause of what she saw.”  
  
Sasuke was not pitying her. Not. It was only reminding him of, well, stuff. That was it. This was the reason he had to become powerful, (no matter what) so that _that man_ couldn't do this. Not again. (He refused to acknowledge him by his name— he lost all rights to that when he decided to _kill_ –)  
  
The sharp sting of his nails digging into his palms brought him back to reality.  
  
Naruto sent him a knowing glance, seemingly subconscious, but it was enough to irk his ire. A sharp sneer was shot at Naruto, full of annoyance and contempt. Who was he to judge Sasuke, with the way he looked?  
  
The was the dobe flinched was as if he was struck by a physical blow. Which made him look even more pitiful. Which made Sasuke feel worse.  
  
When he glanced back, Naruto was gazing unfocused at a far-off blade of grass.  
  
What was he doing, throwing away his chance at winning those bells? The dobe was the better of two evils. At least he had some skills. Sakura would just hinder them. If Sakura cooperated with them, he'd just tell her to give the bells to them. She’ll surely listen, he was talking to her. Or so he hoped. Honestly, the only reason he hated her was due to her total disregard of their profession. She had high scores in the academy; which means she had to be genuinely good at something. He respected that. But her lack of effort and her disturbing obsession with him lost her that respect immediately. She cares more about her image than about the effectiveness of her kunai. His contempt of Naruto was based on the same principal.  
  
Watching Naruto become so introverted at the slightest provocation was worrisome. He was counting on him, (however difficult that was to admit) and needed him to work with him. And he was genuinely sorry for upsetting him, an often ignored voice in the back of his head added.  
  
He offered an apologetic “hn” in an attempt to rectify his lack of self-control. But it made all the difference. Naruto gave a start, but then his expression eased into a less intense look of surprise. He made out a muttered “sorry ‘bout that” before Naruto made a move towards Sakura. He shook her shoulder, and she sat up with a gasp, a scream at the edge of her tongue. Naruto slapped a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, but his consideration was met with a bite.  
  
Sasuke couldn't know for sure, but from the wince and the guilty look and the gushing blood, it must have hurt. Sakura immediately spat out whatever got in her mouth with disgust with a mirage of guilt, while Naruto gingerly cradled his injured hand with a grimace.  
  
When Sakura made eye contact with him, her features lightened with relief, “Sas-”  
  
He cut her off with a look. Naruto had blocked her mouth for a reason. Garnering Kakashi's attention was not the way to go about this. He most likely already knew their exact location, but provoking him was not a good idea.  
  
She switched to a whisper, “Sasuke, you're alive!”  
  
“Hn.”  
  
“And Naruto,” she muttered distastefully. But his wound caught her attention, and her eyes got a determined glint.  
  
“I have a first aid kit, here…” she rummaged through her supplies until she found some bandages. “Let me help.”  
  
Naruto turned to her, the corner of his mouth turned up with a half smile. Small, but real. He held out his bleeding arm.  
  
The next few minutes were spent strategizing.  
  
Sakura was at first doubtful of letting Naruto help, but once Naruto went over Kakashi’s instructions, she made an “aha” face. Apparently, the whole test was about teamwork, a core value of Konoha. Naruto gave her a proud glance, his tired cerulean eyes giving off a small twinkle. He clearly knew about this beforehand. How was it that the dobe and Sakura realize this before him, the number one rookie? It then occurred to him that he was thinking too one-dimensionally, not looking at the full picture.    
  
His mind began to drift at the startling discovery, but Naruto pulled his attention back with a well-aimed question. “The main purpose of this test is teamwork. So, what’s the best way to attack, while showing our teamwork? The chances of actually beating him are low, but a good show might convince him.”  
  
The conversation continued from there, his teammates imputing some valuable insight occasionally, while he considered the best form of attack.  
  
But by the time a consensus was reached, they were beaten by the bell. Literally.  
  
Kakashi body-flickered into their small clearing.  
  
“Alright kiddies! Seeing as not one of you got the bells, I'm oh-so-graciously willing to give you another chance. Now, who here is getting lunch? Remember, only two of you.” He said, false cheer dripping off every word.  
  
“Sakura and Sasuke should have the lunch, I'm not hungry,” Naruto suggested.  
  
Whether he liked it or not, Naruto has done most of the work so far. And Sasuke had eaten breakfast. It didn't sit well with him to let Naruto take the consequence. And Naruto looks like he could do with some food.  
  
“No! They both did more than me, they should get the lunch!” Sakura surprised him, and Naruto and Kakashi too, if their expressions meant anything. “Besides, Naruto looks like he needs to eat something.”  
  
Sasuke figured that her refusal had more to do with dieting than actually feeding Naruto, but perhaps he wasn't giving her enough credit.  
  
“Hn, I can do without. I ate breakfast. You two will hold me back if you go hungry.”  
  
“Aww, it looks like he cares!” Kakashi said, “So, who will forgo lunch?”  
  
All three of them remained silent.  
  
“Well, there is nothing else to do but,” Kakashi let the anticipation build,  
  
“Pass!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years!


	6. Ramen Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting Shikamaru was a surprise. But this, this _seriously_ put a damper on his plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edited: 11/25/17

Kakashi quickly disappeared after showing them the memorial stone. Moments later, Naruto immediately fled from his former—current—teammates as well.  
  
The bell-test was a particularly fond memory of his childhood. Kakashi had beaten him down and humiliated him, his teammates had been no kinder, and yet it was almost the highlight of his childhood. And now the very opposite occurred. Sakura and Sasuke teamed up with him, Kakashi acknowledged him—but now it felt like he was cheating. The memory felt sullied, somehow, not as pure as it was before he relived it. Perhaps he should strive to be a copy of his former self—no, he couldn't. He might hate this burden, but it was a chance he must carry through.  
  
And frankly, he was surprised that Kakashi let them off the hook so quickly. The man he had known—a corpse on a pike of wood—was far more sadistic. Naruto understood that Kakashi was ordered to pass them as his team; how could he not, with Sasuke and his Sharingan to him and Kurama? (And, the casual admittance of the fact from the man himself.) But he'd still expected Kakashi to draw it out longer, to drive them into the dirt. But all he did was leave the offered lunch behind, give them the spiel about the importance of teamwork, and show them the memorial stone. (He already knew what it felt like to stand there for hours, talking to those you failed.)  
  
He left the lunches with Sakura and Sasuke and decided to be more productive today. He heard Sakura's "will you go on a date with me?!" from a street away.  
  
Throughout the exam, Naruto had sensed Kakashi spying on them. It left him no choice but to climb out of the dirt himself, showcasing a not-so-insignificant skill. Not only one, he realized, but an accumulation of many skills that he shouldn't have had at this point. Naruto had to count on the fact that Kakashi didn't know him up until now. (He was counting on shorter and shorted odds—he wondered when it would all fall apart from under him).  
  
He bet the jounin had shadow cloned himself and had one trailing each of them. All three of them meeting up and Sakura bandaging his hand up was likely what passed them the exam. The timer setting off before they completed the direct objective was therefore inconsequential, as Kakashi had already seen what he was looking for in a team. The second test with the lunches only verified his earlier conclusion.  
  
Naruto flexed his injured hand, momentarily surprised but quickly dismissive of the flair of pain down his arm. While the wound didn't require stitches, it still bled quite profusely. It didn't matter. Whatever his body hasn't healed yet, it will within the next few hours.  
  
Honestly, despite his earlier inhibitions, he felt a deep-seated urge to reacquaint himself with the village; to re-explore every crevice and secret about the village until he knew it like the back of his hand, so he would never forget anything about it ever again. The village was so full of life, he could sense countless chakra signatures for miles. It was so alien and yet—  
  
It almost made him feel happy. Almost.  
  
But one couldn't bring a broken shinobi home for a day and expect everything to go away.  
  
There was enough trouble was brewing already, there was no need to add to it with his mental baggage.

 

* * *

  
  
Shikamaru was drifting through one of the main streets in Konoha, with elaborate markets surrounding every available corner, when he ran into Uzumaki Naruto. He had finally lost both Ino and Choji, the former to her family shop and the latter to a brand new barbecue restaurant, and had decided to take the long route back home. And although he had planned on a good cloud-watching break in the Nara compound, figuring out Uzumaki was a satisfactory alternative. Perhaps he even knew how to play shogi? He had planned to ask an ever-willing clan member, but a new opponent was always better—not the same old strategies.  
  
“Yo, Uzumaki-san,” he called out.  
  
“Shikamaru-san,” Naruto acknowledged, marginally inclining his head and turning to face him. Naruto had been observing some weapons booths, to the unhidden disgruntlement of the shopkeepers. He also noted the bags of already-paid-for merchandise.  
  
“I was just looking at potential purchased, for when I get some more money from some missions,” Naruto said, an almost sheepish expression on his face.  
  
Shikamaru hummed in acknowledgment but was far more interested in how sickly the blond appeared. Naruto looked as if he had a bad case of the flu—pale skin with almost a sheen to it, shiny eyes, visible, albeit subtle, tremors in his hands. It was strange though. If someone were to look at just Naruto's face, they would think he was fine, if exhausted. It was his actual body language that belayed something less comfortable. Shikamaru, simply put, thought that Uzumaki should be bundled up under layers of blankets. Not running errands.  
  
But Shikamaru understood that Naruto couldn’t just stand up his first day as a genin due to an illness, but he should have gone home immediately after. As Naruto clearly wasn't going to do that, Shikamaru blurted, “Wanna go eat? 'Cause we finally became genin and all,”  
  
That sounded awkward. But hopefully, Naruto would accept. He looked like he could do with a warm meal. And Shikamaru could keep an eye on him.  
  
Naruto looked surprised, then resigned. “Alright,” he gave a mock-smile, “Where to?”  
  
Again with the fake smiles. He understood that Naruto was content with staying alone, and only said yes because he had asked, but this was an opportunity that Shikamaru won't pass up.  
  
“Where do you like to go? I don't care either way,” Shikamaru added.  
  
When Naruto seemed to struggle with an answer, Shikamaru gave in, “Alright alright, fine, you like ramen, do you not? Where’s the best place for that?”  
  
The answer was immediate: “Ramen Ichiraku.”  
  
Naruto's eyes seemed to mist over at the answer, but a blink later and Shikamaru couldn't be sure that he wasn't imagining things. But a nostalgic look remained and Shikamaru felt like he was intruding on a private moment.  
  
The mood swings were troublesome, and yet the Nara in him demanded that he'd get to the bottom of it (at least after long periods of procrastination and cloud watching). Honestly, he had no idea what he was doing, but he was determined; an unusual and dangerous feeling in a Nara.  
  
Shikamaru continued walking beside Naruto, slouched with his hands in his pockets.  
  
But unaware to the common passersby, his eyes had a sharp calculating glint.

  
 

* * *

  
   
  
Naruto had a feeling that he would be accosted, wandering around as he was. But he thought it would be an ired shopkeeper or a worried Iruka. Not a curious graduate. Naruto had known he had made an impression on the now-genin and was hoping that eventually they may be further acquainted in the future, but apparently, he managed to incite Shikamaru's curiosity enough that he had decided to take action. That was extremely out of character for him, as far as Naruto knew. The paranoid side of his brain was telling him he should check if this wasn't an enemy under henge, but he knew that that was irrational.  
  
So now, instead of choosing what weapons and gear he would save up for, he found himself walking to Ichiraku’s. Even the name invoked some sentimental emotion in him. After Pain’s attacks, the ramen stand still provided the remainder of Konoha's population with ramen, doing their best to boost everyone's morale until their inevitable end. A small while later,  he and Teuchi found themselves standing in front of Ayame’s small grave: one emotionless with tense muscles, the other openly weeping. Naruto remembered he had then disappeared off on a month-long mission, and when he came back, Teuchi wasn't around anymore. Naruto had refused to acquire any more details.  
  
So when Naruto agreed to go to the ramen restaurant, he wasn't sure if he was being hopelessly masochistic or optimistic. He doubted Teuchi and Ayame could stand to look at him if they remembered what he had done—and couldn't prevent.  
  
He quickly lost his already nonexistent appetite, but he already agreed to go eat out with Shikamaru. He couldn't back out now. Besides, he was interested in Shikamaru's end goal—and perhaps getting closer to someone in his current age group would benefit him later on. So he indulged the Nara. He wondered at what conclusions he would draw.  
  
He strolled through the streets, remembering the way to his childhood safe-spot: the one place he always felt welcomed. Shikamaru's slouched form was a few steps behind him, clearly deep in thought. He wondered at Shikamaru's reaction when he realized all those glares were aimed towards Naruto. At this point, he actually didn't care if the whole world knew that he was a jinchuuriki, and was sure Shikamaru would piece it together relatively quickly. (He wondered if Shikamaru would be mature about it, or run off screaming.)  
  
Under any other circumstance, he would have found it funny that Shikamaru, someone who prided himself on his sheer laziness, was so quick to investigate whatever spiked his curiosity. At this point, however, it was an inconvenience. He was still reorienting himself, everything still feeling off-kilter and foreign.  
  
The shops and vendors became more sparse and the streets more run down. But between a large building and a street, Naruto could spot the small building; the high counter with circular stools hidden behind fabric signs. Reliving the “simple times” of his life was giving him an aching sensation behind his eyes and the beginning of a migraine, all wrapped up in nostalgia and déjà vu. But Naruto knew he must keep his composure, especially with the threat of an emotional outburst, in front of people who he knew. Who had cared about the person he used to be. They will worry about him anyway, but he refused to add to their problems. Just the thought that they'll be worrying about an imposter, someone who might as well killed the person they knew and cared about, made his stomach clench with guilt. He didn't deserve any sympathy.  
  
Naruto sat on the familiar stool, Shikamaru copying his movement at a more sedate pace. He looked up at a menu he had long since memorized. And yet it was different. Just like everything else, there were subtle changes that inevitably happened over time: an ingredient changed here, a price changed there. It was discerning; all the small differences that he was only now noticing, things that haven't happened and changed so slowly that they were only observable when put side to side. Even after the village was destroyed, and a makeshift mockery was built within the ruins, Naruto had held the memory of Konoha near and dear to his heart. But now it seemed that the Konoha he knew would only exist in one place: in his head.  
  
When a voice called out “just a minute,” Naruto released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. Shikamaru quickly glanced at him before his eyes drifted back to the afternoon sky. Shikamaru's head was cushioned against his arm, and his overall posture screamed 'lazy'; in contrast to Naruto's tense frame and agitated expression.  
  
He could smell the broth from the kitchen, hear the bubbling from the boiling water, the footsteps coming to take their orders.  
  
“Naruto-kun! It's been two days! And you brought a friend!” Ayame exclaimed.  
  
But when she got a good look at his face, her brows furrowed in concern.  
  
"Are you alright, Naruto-kun?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, trying to appear normal.  
  
She did not look convinced. “You know what, the ramen is on me today,”  
  
Before Naruto could refuse her misplaced generosity, she added, “As well for your friend…?”  
  
“Nara Shikamaru,” Shikamaru butted in, introducing himself.  
  
“Nara-san! Excuse me for not properly introducing myself. Call me Ayame. And food is on the house for you as well.”  
  
A yell could be heard from the back, “WHAT? Ayame, come back here!”  
  
She gave them an apologetic glance before turning and yelling back to her father, “JUST A SECOND! Sorry about that. Naruto, the usual, right?” She barely gave him time to nod before asking Shikamaru, “And you?”  
  
“Same as whatever he’s getting,” he replied, vaguely motioning with his hand. He clearly hasn’t bothered to look at the menu.  
  
She quickly wrote it down in her notebook and ran to the kitchen.  
  
Naruto sighed; she shouldn't have done that. All Ayame was doing was getting into trouble with her father over what, him of all people? All because she pitied him—he wasn't the person she thought he was, making it all the worse. He could hear her father berating her, and Ayame arguing back. Eventually, Teuchi walked out himself.  
  
“Sorry about that,” he gruffly apologized, but his lips pursed at Naruto, “Two free bowls, but only this time!”  
  
Naruto could hear him muttering to himself on the way back. They really shouldn't have done that.  
  
“They care about you, you know?” Shikamaru said, having watched the entire exchange with half-lidded eyes.  
  
“Why do you say that?” Naruto replies, pushing down his discomfort at the words.  
  
“Because you should let them.”  
  
The words lingered, heavy in the air. Shikamaru was wrong, Naruto believed vehemently. He had no right to impose on them in this way.  
  
“Do I really look that bad?” Naruto asked, self-deprecating.  
  
He knew that he had bags under his eyes, that his palms trembled and that his skin was clammy. He was even used to it, to some extent. But in the war, even he was constantly under the threat of chakra exhaustion, and even chakra sickness, from his near-constant use of the metaphysical energy. He had constantly overloaded his coils to the brink; once, twice, he healed fasted enough, but more than that, consecutively, had led to some damage that even he couldn't avoid. But that hasn't happened.  
  
At this point, his chakra regeneration, and subsequent healing, should be at its peak. So it was very much out of the ordinary, impossible even, that he showed such physical signs of restlessness, heaviness in his bones and an ache behind his eyes. But he had simply dismissed it. He shouldn't have.  
  
It suddenly came to him. The Kyuubi was muted, his usual loud presence gone silent and constant chakra supply depleted.  It was the very chakra his body relied on from birth. His own chakra stores were incredibly large, his experiences and genealogy further enhancing his already large reserves. He required a certain mix of both for his body to complete certain functions that others took for granted. Too much bijuu chakra and he begins to burn from the inside out; the opposite, well, it was like telling a person they must survive on carbon dioxide instead of oxygen. His grip on the counter turned white.  
  
There was no telling what the consequences would be. Perhaps he would die within the week, the entire experience coming back here, fruitless. Perhaps his organs would shut down slowly. (Perhaps that would be for the best; that removing his presence was the key to ending Madara's rebirth before it ever happened. Wishful thinking.) He didn't know.  
  
"Yes. Terrible," the Nara replied dryly. But even Naruto could see his unease, his unmasked concern.  
  
Naruto didn't bequeath him an answer. There was nothing for Naruto to say. Later, he promised himself, later he would find a way out of this. With or without Kurama.  
  
It was then two large steaming bowls came out of the back room, carried on a tray by Ayame.  
  
“Itadakimasu,”  
  
Naruto's hand throbbed.

 

* * *

  
   
  
Kakashi’s first impression was right. They were an interesting bunch, if not too much trouble.  
  
Kakashi had kept constant surveillance on the three genin throughout the test. It was only practical. Naruto had succeeded in bringing the three together. They had also refused the lunches, passing the additional assessment. They achieved the hidden objective, and yet—he was left with more questions than he started with. On any other day, he would have drawn the fighting out, forced the genin to take the bells from him and have them choose amongst themselves who would be sent back to the academy. He didn't, however, for numerous reasons. First and foremost, he was stuck with the brats either way, so ending the test on a high note should, hopefully, bring them closer together. If the test continued and that initial spark of teamwork didn't persist, then the genin would be pitted against one another, leaving him with far more cleanup work. But secondly, Naruto looked like he was going to drop.  
  
But surprisingly enough, the blond put on a good show despite this. Possibly too great of a show. The spar against him demonstrated skills beyond genin level, and many of his techniques showed a high level of chakra control. Chakra control that he supposedly lacked. It was suspicious.  
  
It could be that Naruto was simply much more intelligent than anyone gave him credit for and was adept at hiding it. He had redecorated the Hokage monument in broad daylight without being caught, after all. But going under the radar under all the surveillance that came with being a jinchuuriki was near impossible. If it were, say, Haruno that demonstrated such superior skills, Kakashi would be surprised but not half as suspicious. Hidden prodigies, especially from those as underestimated as civilian-born or unaffiliated orphans, were not as uncommon. His sensei was one.  
  
But there were other inconsistencies. His taijutsu, for one. His strikes and movements continuously over-reached, making for clumsy and weak fighting. But after the beginning of the fight, during which Naruto's kage-bunshin starting out no better than cannon fodder, Naruto's precision increased dramatically. Also, his taijutsu was in an unfamiliar style, with Kakashi being able to spot bits and pieces of Konoha's more standardized forms incorporated within.  
  
Sasuke, likewise, was somewhat adept at fighting. But in where Naruto made up for his awkward taijutsu with strategy, Sasuke lacked that finesse. His movements were smooth and his techniques were good enough, but he often exaggerated his movements, too showy for a ninja. It was clear that he was letting arrogance grace his fighting, which was why Kakashi decided to take him down a peg or three. It may have been inappropriate for him to do so, but the face the Uchiha made was well worth it.  
  
And then there was Haruno Sakura. He could tell by her lack of muscle mass that she didn't often frequent the academy's training ground. Her crush on Sasuke was another major weakness that he had readily taken advantage of. However, genjutsu should have been her strong point. It was disappointing how easily she was overcome by such a jutsu.  
  
Both her teammates vastly outshined her, but he had to remind himself that they were far more powerful than they should be at this level, while she just met the academy expectation. If she was smart, she would work to better herself and overcome those weaknesses. But one point in her favor was that she didn't seem to have an issue with violence, as told by that nasty bite she took out of Naruto. A reluctance to cause injury was actually a serious problem among civilian born. She also displayed decent first aid knowledge, as well as generally being able to find the hidden picture. That is, of course, only once she was practically hand-fed the answer by Naruto. She had, however, caught on to the concept of the impossible test much faster than Sasuke, a supposed genius. He had to give some credit where credit was due.  
  
All around, the team surpassed his expectations. But he had a niggling feeling that these brats will cause wrinkles on his face by the time he's done with them. He at least has an idea of what approach he should take to training them.  
  
But first, let them suffer under a few grueling D-ranks.


	7. Old and New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D-ranks are boring! We want a better mission!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yet another filler, I know. But over 50 pages in total! Some new characters, some old. An introduction to the next ark of the story. Some brilliant foreshadowing courtesy of me. All in a day’s work.
> 
> edited: 4/9/18

The next several weeks were ample with D-ranks, much to Team Seven's dismay.   
  
Naruto had forgotten how mind-numbing repetitive tasks of manual labor could be. He had forgotten a lot of things. But despite the disconcerting familiarity of his surroundings, the unease he felt down to his bones, he began to acclimate to his situation. The limbs attached to the body he now inhabited moved as if his own, his emotions settled into something of not manageable then tolerable. And if he closed his eyes, he almost felt like himself. To most, that wouldn't be enough. But Naruto could adapt, to do otherwise would be to give into the future, and he isn't that far gone yet. But he knew, that to anyone who really knew him, he would be virtually unrecognizable. (Naruto attempted to push this out of mind, knowing that those people are dead and therefore even contemplating what they would perceive him as doesn't really matter. He failed.)  
  
And, as a pleasant surprise, he hasn't dropped dead yet.   
  
The D-ranks did serve a purpose, however; their team bonded together through pure trauma alone. D-ranks have more often than not ended in three mud-soaked genin grumbling their way to the pay desk, and a certain fiend hated him more than ever, but he and his teammates get along for the most part.   
  
Most days, Naruto almost felt detached to his surroundings, with the occasional event or action catching his notice, but most of it just drifting around him. He knew it wasn't a good way to cope, but as long as no one got hurt, he could let himself this retreat, if only for just another moment.   
  
He noticed the concerned glances of the people around him, the furrow of the Sandiame's brow when he handed them their next mission (as for why the Hokage personally handed them their missions, well, Naruto was still baffled), the side glances of his teammates. Yes, he noticed, but no one said anything, so he had no reason to change his behavior just yet.  
  
But the team overall was progressing much faster then he remembered—skill-wise. All he remembered was how ill-prepared they were for any real conflict, how the second things got difficult, they were crushed to the ground. But despite Kakashi’s lack of training so far, the open time in the mornings was eventually noticed and taken advantage of by Sasuke. Eventually, the solo training progressed into a causal tip-giving between teammates which then turned into sparring matches and exchanged techniques. It was a fair deal; the team benefited from having stronger members, and more often than not, a technique was exchanged for another. But they were nothing exciting; perhaps a better taijutsu form here, a chakra control technique there. Naruto learned nothing new.  
  
He also continued to meet up with Shikamaru, much to his own surprise and amusement. Naruto was often used as a scapegoat from Ino, and aside from Shikamaru’s blatant attempts at information gathering, Naruto was apparently considered less “troublesome” than his other teammates. Iruka also got his hands on him over those next few weeks. That was mostly spent giving half-hearted reassurances and being told that he could come to him for absolutely anything. Naruto was touched by his caring but knew that no one could help him. Besides, Iruka had a very deep sense of loyalty to Konoha. If he gave him any information, Iruka would be torn between his duty to the village and Naruto. He refused to do that to him. Besides, if his talk of the future was ever believed, he would be interrogated for all his knowledge and secrets and then locked up. And even now, Naruto knew that that must be avoided at all costs.  
  
Any kind of progress he made was belayed his own state of being. His nightmares traveled with him, and he, without fail, woke up in a blind panic, not knowing where he was, who he was. And then there were those moments where he thinks he might truly lose control and blindly attack, he was constantly on edge. He knew that it'll happen at some point, and he knew that that should scare him, but for now, he's settled with narrowly escaping that inevitability.  
  
But even more pressing than his apparent instability was the loss of regeneration. His hand was still healing, two crescent scabs along his palm. But that wasn't the worst consequence of the unexpected disconnect from Kurama. He missed having someone to speak with, someone who would not judge him by social norms, someone who would give him the kick to get his act together. Somehow, literally running out of Kurama’s chakra, on which he depended on to survive, didn't seem as bad as that. But his death would lead to Kurama's and could potentially lead to the future happening again as it once did. Whether he truly felt this way, or that it was simply a result of his deteriorating physical and mental state, he didn't know. He just knew that he couldn't sleep and that avoiding notice was becoming harder than ever. Recently, he had to extend his henge to lessen the prominent, ever-growing dark circles around his eyes, which only expedited the chakra depletion, if only by a slight degree.   
  
And it wasn't as if he could just limit his chakra use. Besides being an on-duty ninja—albeit a genin—his body was constantly using chakra just to maintain itself. He worried that when he ever got into a fight, the last of the malevolent energy his body depended on will be used up. Needless to say, his continued survival depended on how fast the Kyuubi wakes up.  
  
So he found himself honing his taijutsu and weapon throwing every morning alongside Sakura and Sasuke, occasionally engaging in a taijutsu-only spar. Any further training, especially any that involved chakra, would have to be delayed.  
  
Sakura’s development of actually being determined to train and better herself was a byproduct of something he must have changed. She also seemed determined to get out of D-ranks no matter what—not that he can truly blame her. Somehow, the way he could diverge the pre-determined paths of the people around him unwittingly was one of the most alarming events. (His precious people were becoming less and less like themselves, and somehow, it was making his reenactment of his childhood feel more and more like a bizarre distortion than the reality he had once lived through.) Perhaps, in this case, it could be considered an improvement on the behaviors he remembered her by, but he did not doubt his own ability to mess everything up. He would have to be more vigilant about his every action.  
  
The team dynamics, in general, were skewed from what he remembered. Sasuke seems to take input from him and Sakura into consideration and actually tolerated them—to an extent. Sakura, while still obviously “in love” with Sasuke, doesn't proclaim it every two seconds. And he wasn’t the class clown anymore. It only made him more uneasy.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Sakura was annoyed, and it showed. For the past week, grey-haired man who dared call himself their sensei (not that he even taught them anything yet) has been over two hours late! Two hours! Sakura, being the ever-so-diligent student, came to the bridge every day at six, as they were instructed. Sakura knew that it was futile, as Kakashi-sensei won't even know if she came late, but the chance to be closer to Sasuke-kun made it worthwhile. It perfect opportunity to woo him. (And shove it into Ino-pig's face!)  
  
Honestly, while Sasuke-kun wasn't downright hostile to her anymore—she must be doing something right!—he still refused to acknowledge her outside of those D-ranks. Which ruined so many of her outfits! She needed to buy something more durable, but not only was that expensive, proper kunoichi clothing was not as flattering on her figure, it was just too bulky.  
  
Alright, Sakura knew she was being petty, but if she was only obsessed with Sasuke-kun because of a simple crush, well, she would be less blatant. It was the combination of her rivalry with Ino-pig on top of Sasuke that made for this toxic combination. She had to beat Ino in something, damn it! She was better at everything (most of which was handed to her the day she was born), why couldn't Sakura at least have this?  
  
And she knew that Sasuke hates her, how much he didn't and couldn't tolerate her advances, but it was already an ingrained habit. She couldn't just have an overhaul of her entire personality. Right? (Unless she was Naruto, who always broke the rules, the answer remains a definite no.)  
  
Perhaps she could refrain from asking him on dates and behave in a way in which he can stand. He was obsessed with training and so she joined him also. (Maybe's Naruto's sudden leap in skill, and Sasuke's sudden almost-respect for him, influenced her decision to train with the boys, but honestly, it was for herself.) Most training scrolls were restricted to genin, she learned far more by training with her teammates than she would otherwise. Naruto, to her surprise, knew far more about chakra manipulation and even simple kunai-throwing techniques than she (and evidently Sasuke-kun) ever expected. Despite her initial reservations, the entire arrangement was startlingly rewarding. However, she couldn't help but wonder what Naruto has been doing all throughout the academy to mask this from everyone. No wonder he was graduated despite not being able to create a bunshin.  
  
That morning, she was the last one to arrive at the training field—other than their forever tardy sensei, of course. Sasuke-kun was sitting on a tree branch, leaning against the trunk, sharpening his kunai. She gave herself a moment to simply watch Sasuke-kun gracefully slid the edge of the knives against the ridged sharpening block, the way the muscles in his arms tensed and untensed with each stroke, the sharp gaze of his eyes surrounded by lush lashes, casting long shadows down his cheekbones. How cool.   
  
But Naruto was very obviously asleep against the trunk of a nearby tree, his head slumped forward into his chest. She doubted he intentionally fell asleep, but it was clear he needed it. She thought he was looking healthier these past few days, but the dark circles around his eyes, even while sleeping, and the tight lines of his mouth and eyes suggested otherwise. Sakura resigned herself to letting him sleep, at least until the usual time Kakashi-sensei came. If she had to suffer through countless D-ranks, so would he!  
  
For the next couple hours, she sent kunai hurling into distant targets. Once she ran out, she walked over to collect them, only to repeat the training. Sasuke-kun eventually joined her, and the occasional exchange between them made her temporarily forget about Naruto. But there was only so much entertainment she could derive from the repetitive motion, even with Sasuke-kun's occasional input, and eventually, she found her attention wandering back to her blond teammate.  
  
Ever since graduation he had been acting weird. Not that she wasn't grateful for the end of his annoying crush—because she was, thank you very much—but going from a happy-go-lucky wannabe future Hokage to some mopey mess was not normal. She knew something happened at their academy graduation, but she didn't know what.  
  
Eventually, it was around the time Kakashi usually showed up, and after asking Sasuke if she should (he responded with his usual grunt and continued on training), she walked over to where Naruto was slumped, his face protected from the sun by the limbs of the tree.  
  
So Sakura failed to notice the crease between his eyebrows, his tight grip on a kunai beneath his jacket.   
  
When she bent down to shake his shoulder, his eyes snapped open and she was pushed onto her back with a kunai at her throat.   
  
She could barely register the movement before she felt the oomph of her lungs as she was pushed to the ground. Her head hit a tree root, and black spots danced before her vision.   
  
His nose was inches from hers and his feral eyes gazed unseeingly into her own, pupils blown wide. His iris was nearly overshadowed by black, but the little she saw, flickering at the edges, was a color that took her half a moment to pin down.  
  
"Na-Naruto?"  
  
Naruto gave a startled breath, eyes wide but clear from that haze of panic, and it was then she noticed another hand gripping the kunai on top of Naruto’s, holding it away from her neck. He let go of the weapon, stumbling back pale-faced, stammering, “I-I, sorry–”  
  
“Maa maa, trouble this early in the day?” Kakashi said, breaking the tense air.  
  
Naruto gave an unsteady nod and looked apologetically at her. She gave him a tight smile.  
  
But that was her first true glimpse of the shinobi world, her first true rush of life or death.  
  
Whenever she though back at the incident, she dismissed the cat-like pupils and violet irises as a trick of the light, a result of disorientation from a hit to the head.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Kakashi was unlikely to forget the morning that his genin attempted to kill each other. He wished he could've said that he didn't sense this coming, but he did. His blonde student had been walking on a dangerous edge ever since he was assigned to Team Seven. Kakashi didn't know what it said about Konoha's graduation system and the vetting that goes into an application, but shinobi with obvious instability continuously pass through the system—their potential criticised and emotions are forgotten. He himself was a prime example of this pattern at work, and his other genin as well. For all that Kakashi suspected that Naruto's issues—that was the kindest word he could think of—were a new development, it only passed his students' problems onto him.   
  
To watch Naruto attack his teammate, well, it was startling, to say the least.   
  
He had had a clear view when it happened, Sakura strolling away from the boy she proclaimed to oh-so-love to her unconscious teammate. He would have been proud of the gesture, especially coming from a girl that made her dislike painfully obvious not only two weeks before, if not for what happens. The fact that one of his genin was nearly impaled through the throat by her teammate made his palms slightly clammy. Naruto looked horrified at his actions, and Kakashi spared a moment to ponder at what—or whom—could have installed such reflexes in him.   
  
Kakashi caught the Uchiha's wide eyes as he turned, making note of his hint of panic.  
  
"I think today we will practice dodging close range kunai, hmm?" Kakashi said.  
  
The long-awaited training session was met somberly by his genin, any enthusiasm for finally learning some shinobi tricks-of-trade wiped from their faces. And if Sakura was more hesitant at approaching Naruto for the next few days, well, it was only a minor setback.  
  
As the training progressed, Kakashi found himself accepting more and more missions. One D-rank a day swiftly turned to two, which turned to as many as could possibly fit in a day after training. (This action may or may not have been prompted by a certain green beast and his penchant for competitions.)  
  
At first, Kakashi turned to the D-ranks as a way to alleviate his boredom via his genin's torment. And being taken off of the active mission roster not only put a stop to the distraction but suddenly the yen stopped rolling in and he had to find an alternative. Good literature didn't grow on trees. His students also needed a source of income to pay for their gear, so he definitely considered it a win-win, at least for a short time.  
  
Kakashi failed to consider the rapidly warming weather and his student's rising ire. There was only so much nagging he could take. And eventually, he found himself grudgingly agreeing that there was only so much D-ranks one could do (or in his case, reap the benefits of having the genin do the work) and that perhaps, they could take a week off to do something more interesting. Some more basic training—he was a firm believer that the foundations and teamwork must be there before he taught them anything more sophisticated—or perhaps a simple escort mission. Some time from the village could be nice.  
  
So when Sakura demanded a better mission, in front of the Hokage, no less, he couldn't find himself to refuse her. The other two seemed to be in agreement with her demands, and Kakashi requested a C-rank beneath the Hokage's amused gaze.  
  
He would reprimand her later, he promised himself.  
  
They got themselves an easy escort mission, a few mercenaries expected at most. There shouldn't be any trouble. A light introduction into active combat, nothing that could cause any harm should they freeze or make a mistake.  
  
Nothing that could risk his adorable little genin this early in the game.  
  
  
 

* * *

  
  
  
The Sandaime rubbed his face tiredly. He was too old for this.  
  
He couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt when he looked upon the freshly-produced genin. He wished that the innocence of the village's children could last merely a few years longer. But it seemed that his long tenure as Hokage had changed no such thing.  
  
And yet he couldn't help but believe that out of anyone, he had failed Naruto the most. He failed the Uzumaki and the Yondaime and then their progeny.   
  
He couldn't resolve the village's hatred. The jinchuuriki lived alone and unliked in an unwanted hovel of the village. And it was under his own administration that that portentous breach in security occurred. And Naruto’s status was revealed in an all-too-traumatizing way. Sarutobi acknowledged that he had a conflict of interest involving the blond. He considered him just as much of a grandson as Konohamaru. He felt no little guilt on his part of Naruto’s unfair hand in life. But as the jinchuuriki of the Hidden Leaf, and as the container of the strongest bijuu, Naruto bore an obligation, a burden, to the village. And with his position revealed, and his reaction clear, Naruto was becoming a possible flight risk. And as Hokage, he had fealty to his village.  
  
It shouldn't have come to this.  
  
He took a long drag from his pipe, gazing at his predecessors from the window.  
  
If anything interfered with Naruto's seal, he would be the first to know. Through a complex set of seals, the Nine-Tails’ jail was under constant monitoring. If any change in the seal’s structure occurred, the tower’s occupants would be immediately notified. But there was something else in the making; something that he couldn't put his finger too. As a veteran shinobi that survived through three shinobi wars, Sarutobi could sense that a conflict was on the rise. It was the same tension, the same anticipation before the storm that he, and any other shinobi who lived to such an old age, felt all those years ago. And unlike then, his weary bones and wrinkled skin would not hold up against any type of onslaught.  
  
The next generation must grow up fast.  
  
He must begin the hunt for a successor. In due haste.


	8. Audacity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mission to Wave country and Naruto forgot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this makes some sense! (Basically, short flashback in the beginning of every chapter for the duration of the ark.)

_The air was frigid, but he didn’t notice. His mind was on a single track: faster,_ faster _,_ FASTER _!_

 _It couldn’t have happened — no, and wouldn’t have happened if_ he _hadn’t sent Kakashi on this mission alone. (A high stakes suicide mission that Kakashi couldn’t and_ wouldn’t _refuse)._

_Sakura was of the same as she kept pace by his side. Her eyes were narrowed, and mouth set in a furious scowl._

_They had gotten the news that Kakashi was captured on enemy territory days ago, but were immediately put on watch due to their_ flight risk _status. The mockery of Konoha was understaffed, and he and Sakura were considered to be the strongest and last line of defense. But he and Sakura wouldn't remain complacent when they knew they had a chance of saving their sensei._

 _They escaped by night; leaving the crater that was once a village at their backs. There was some resistance when they left, but Sakura and her monstrous strength put down the Root drones with ease. Their_ real _allies conveniently overlooked their departure._

_So now, doubtlessly pursued by a group of Root, he and Sakura were effortlessly pushing through thick foliage._

_The landscape gradually shifted from a dense forest to jagged rocks. As they were running, Naruto sent hundreds of false trails leading in all directions via kage-bunshin. Root knew the general direction they were going in, but the exact route was beyond them. After a certain point, they couldn't follow them anymore, lest they anger the Tsuchikage. The remnants of Konohagakure had enough on their plate, any more and the village would cease to exist._

_Kakashi had been sent to discover what exactly happened to the remains of his former teammate. Danzo’s_ intelligence brought _back information about how Uchiha Obito may not be as completely dead as previously thought. And to the chagrin of himself and Sakura, he opted to go alone. With no backup._

 _And so Sakura and himself found themselves in a futile (No, no! He_ refused _to acknowledge the possibility. Not_ yet _!) self-assigned retrieval mission._

 

* * *

 

Clearly, punctuality was not in Kakashi’s vocabulary.

They were standing at the village gates with a drunk, and Naruto couldn't be more ticked off. Mostly at himself. The fated _Wave Mission_ had completely slipped his mind, and it being sprung up so unexpectedly was doing _wonders_ for his agenda; avoid chakra and remain plausibly inconspicuous until Kurama wakes up. But even such a simple two-part plan falls apart under his authority. This is why he sticks to action and spontaneous decisions.

But this mission was important to the development of the team, and so Naruto couldn’t sabotage it. They became _closer_ after the mission, the shared experience of almost dying driving home the idea of _teamwork._ But naturally, any forward progress they made rendered null by Orochimaru’s machinations. However, despite all that, Naruto learned his most important lesson: protect your precious people at all cost. Naruto failed that objective countless times in his previous life, but despite all his shortcomings, it was always his first priority. And this time around, he won't take failure as an option. So he owed Haku, as his parting message had left something behind near and dear to his heart. He refused to let him die _again._

But then he remembered that Tazuna had the audacity to lie straight to their faces about the mission’s difficulty, and Naruto’s high strung temper snapped. He had enough with misinformation.

And then he remembered how _deplorable_ the living conditions were at Wave, how children were starving on the streets, and his intense anger abated. He couldn’t fault the man for protecting his people.

But it seemed that his short bout of self-directed rage was noticed. Sakura and Sasuke were looking on wide eyed, faint tremors going down their limbs. Tazuna looked like he was going to piss himself, and his sake bottle dropped with a shatter. _Good,_ Naruto thought vindictively, _can't have a drunk jeopardize the entire mission._

He must have been releasing killer intent. Opps.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he gave a fake, wide smile (he was getting better at those), scratching the back of his head.

“Ye-yeah,” Sakura stuttered, her face a contortion of conflicting emotion: a flat smile of relief, but a pinched look of startled horror. Sasuke wasn't fairing much better, as told by his equally startled, albeit more subtle, expression.

Naruto winced. He hadn't meant to scare his teammates. He just couldn't help his anger at the whole situation, bringing many best-forgotten memories to the surface of his mind.

Kakashi should be coming soon. They've been waiting for nearly two hours, and he doubted that the forever-late-nin would arrive even later than _that_ on a mission. But the longer he stood there, the more nervous side glances he got from his teammates, the more uncomfortable he felt. He was itching to move, his hands twitching at his sides, his feet tapping impatiently. It was an unfamiliar feeling. Battle and war were always in abundance in his past experiences, and the sudden lack was foreign to his battle-weary mind.  

Naruto thought about the upcoming fights; about Zabuza and Haku and Gato. They were powerful opponents, and Naruto had to avoid using his chakra. At all costs. It was enough that he was slowly draining his limited reserves on maintaining his henge, but any more and the Kyuubi’s chakra would run out and so would he. His own chakra supply constantly regenerating, but while using it, he couldn't actually determine who’s chakra he’s outputting.

But there was another major issue: the maintenance of his henge. It never stayed while he was sleeping. Sure, it seemed like as he was using up bijuu chakra, his eyes were losing that poisonous hue, but it was still painfully obvious that they weren't blue. The fact that they were slit did not help the fact. But his irritated whisker marks healed over the past few weeks, nearly to the point that he didn't need to cover them up anymore. Those must have resulted from his _travel_ here, rather than a change in chakra density.

If he was ever woken up, he had to be ready to place a henge immediately _._ Hopefully, he would awaken while it was still dark, making the application unnoticed. If not, his disheveled appearance and obviously scarred whiskers would be a big giveaway that something was off. He may have to forego the concealment of his marks and declining health, but that would entail coming up with a feasible excuse. He couldn't think of any that wouldn’t send him straight before the Hokage

 

* * *

 

 

Sasuke knew what killer intent was, but he hadn't felt it directed at himself since that night. It felt like being sucker punched in the gut while simultaneously being watched by an unknown stalker.

He gave an involuntary gasp. His face drained of color, and his frame tensed, fight or flight instinct rushing through his head.

But as fast as the sensation came, it swiftly left. At first he didn't know who was so _bloodthirsty_ , but once Naruto apologized, it all clicked. What could have set him off like that? He must have been thinking about something that he truly hated, what else could he be so spontaneously angry about? Perhaps it was the client, who had rudely insulted them. But that didn't seem like something Naruto would let bother him, these days. Unlike in his academy years, in which Naruto took grave offense at most insults, he was mostly apathetic to ridicule. Neither he nor Sakura were ignorant to the disdainful looks from the villagers; however, they never acknowledged it further than a shared glance behind Naruto's back.

Sakura seemed to have fared just as well as he had, which is to say; not well at all. The client was even worse, mouth opened in shock, the bottle smashed at the ground. But Naruto only looked apprehensive, staring off with a small frown twisting his lips.

Naruto seemed to physically distance himself from himself and Sakura, and he couldn't help but be grateful. That primal emotion of _fear_ made him realize how ignorant he was to shinobi tactics (and with no real experience other than the academy, it wasn’t all that surprising _to his own personal annoyance_ ). And if it was so effective on him now, while clearly not being the target of Naruto's rage, then during a _real_ battle against a _real_ opponent, it could be debilitating.

He wanted to be powerful, to be able to shrug off something like killing intent in a heartbeat. But he didn't have a source to gain that strength. Contrary to popular belief, the large clan archive of jutsu and information was not readily available. Much of it was burnt during the massacre (a last resort against those who want to harm Konoha, they told him), and the remaining was only legible to a Sharingan user. He was able to get by as number one rookie through techniques taught to him in his childhood; katas drilled into his head since birth. But now he was stuck with Kakashi, who hasn't taught them anything yet, and his two teammates.

His opinion of his teammates has improved over the past weeks. Naruto seemed very intelligent and _powerful,_ and not annoying like in the academy. But his skills were were all over the place, always inconsistent with one another. Sakura, if not exactly powerful, proved to be much more intelligent than at first glance. Her effort during morning training also increased his meager respect towards her. (Once she got over her _extreme_ tendencies towards him, he could even tolerate her presence. Somewhat.)

He wondered if Naruto was simply hiding his strength, that all through the academy he wanted everyone to underestimate him. But Sasuke couldn't think of a reason- oh. Was it possible that the villagers played a part in this? Many seemed to irrationally hate him; perhaps hiding himself was a way to guard against them? But why did he stop then? Is it because he became a shinobi? Sasuke knew his theory was missing something, but it was currently the most plausible conclusion he had. He should ask Sakura (as painful as that was to admit), she must have come up with something just as good.

They've been waiting for Kakashi to arrive for nearly two hours, and it was getting annoying. Their client couldn't stop flinching away from Naruto, and mumbling to himself. It was quite tedious. Even Sakura was silently fuming, fingering her kunai and looking like she wanted to stab someone. That was even more violent than usual, for her.

And finally, he arrives.

 

* * *

 

Kakashi shunshined to the gate of Konoha, and was immediately bombarded by Sakura,

“You're LATE!!” She shook a kunai in her hand to emphasise her point.

“Well, you see, I got lost  the road of life. It’s a wonder you all made it so quickly, with all the paths you could take.”

The ritualistic daily banter about his _lateness_ was the distraction he needed to discreetly remove the kunai from her grip. Wouldn't want her to hurt someone.

“Liar!” She accused, noticing the lack of kunai and glaring.

Sasuke was as broody as always, although he seemed to be deep in thought, while Naruto looked amused at the proceedings. The bridge builder was incredulous, eyes practically popping out of his head. He was clearly doubting their capabilities, but with him on the team, the client was actually getting far more than he paid for. As long as the mission stays at C-rank difficulty, or low B-rank maximum, the chance of any risk remained incredibly low.

As Kakashi lead them from the village, he noticed a tension running through the group. Sakura, Sasuke, and the bridge builder were physically distancing themselves from Naruto and casting him apprehensive looks. In Tazuna’s case, fearful looks. He wondered what his cumbersome student did now.

Hours later Kakashi got his prime after setting up camp. Hopefully, his genin could sleep in the dirt for a night. He wasn’t expecting trouble, so rather than setting up hourly shifts throughout the night, he would stay guard throughout the upcoming hours. His genin haven’t had experience with sleepless nights yet—and they had to wake up early for the long day ahead anyway. But it seemed that he wasn’t the only one awake.

“Ne, Naruto,” Kakashi got Naruto's attention.

“Hm?” Naruto inquired.

“What happened before I arrived?”

Naruto took a moment to smile sheepishly, “Well, I was kinda mad that Tazuna-san lied to our faces about the mission, so I...” he trailed off.

Kakashi's face took on a serious expression, his eye taking a sharp, analytical quality: “Oh? That is a serious _accusation_.”

Naruto clarified, “His pulse sped up, and his palms were sweaty when he discussed how easy the mission would be. He was also distinctly nervous when he realized _children_ were assigned to his mission.”

Kakashi had had his doubts about the integrity of the bridge builder but refused to acknowledge them in hopes of a smooth mission. He should have known it would go awry. The first real mission always does. However, it is a stain on Konoha’s service if they turn down a mission with no definitive evidence. And if they did turn down the mission just because of Naruto’s observation, pinning the blame on Naruto would be easy. With the council comprised of who they are, well, Naruto garnered some powerful enemies the moment he was born. But Naruto _was_ on his team, and therefore his responsibility. Betraying his teammate to the whim of the council was _not_ an option.

Naruto continued, “So, cuz’ I got so angry, I may have unleashed a bit of killer intent.” Naruto glared at the ground, sneering, “I _hate_ liars.”

The conversation ended there. Kakashi left the book in front of his face, but the literature stopped registering halfway through the exchanged dialogue.

Naruto had the potential to unleash quite a bit of killer intent, due to his _condition_. However, seeing as he was _thinking_ at the time, and not exactly focusing on them, the killer intent couldn't have been all that powerful. Which means his students had a dangerous weakness that will likely be used them in the upcoming battles if his prediction comes to fruition.

What was also interesting was how powerful Naruto's senses truly were, if he could detect the bridge builder’s pulses and sweaty palms. Kakashi himself had heightened senses, but not to the extent Naruto claimed. It made sense for Naruto to be capable of this, but usually, this was something the academy checked for, especially in orphans. He knew going by academy records was useless in this case, but Naruto himself volunteered very little in compensation.  

And what do you know, Naruto was right.

The next day, two nukenin attempted to ambush them from a puddle.

As the chains approached, Kakashi used a simple kawarimi to get away, while placing a genjutsu depicting his death. He hid on a branch of a nearby tree and watched the proceedings.

He had to make sure these amateurs (who hid inside a puddle when it hasn't rained for a week?) missing-nin were truly targeting their client, rather than attacking a random passerby. His accusations must be proved before he took any action.

Successfully tricking the missing-nin and the bridge builder, he, unfortunately, threw Sakura and Sasuke for a loop. However, they both soon realized that faked his death, and faced their advisories. Naruto remained unfazed.

Strangely, it was Naruto who remained behind with the client, while the other two went on the offense. Sakura and Sasuke worked well together, with Sakura going long distance and distracting the shinobi with well-aimed kunai and shuriken, separating them from one another, while Sasuke approached head-on with taijutsu and his grand fireball technique. All in all, it was a decent strategy, Sakura keeping the brothers unable to simultaneously attack Sasuke, while he got some hits in. His taijutsu had certainly improved since the bell test, and he was clearly holding his own.

He was pleasantly surprised with Sakura. He wasn't sure if she had what it takes to face against a real opponent. But it seemed their morning training paid off.

The missing-nin, however, didn't let their current occupation stop them from reaching their goal of assassinating the bridge builder. Many weapons were hurled at him, but Naruto was diligently deflecting them with the side of a kunai, while the client watched in awe. But a kunai slipped past Naruto's guard, and he got a deep cut on his right shoulder. Having checked the bingo books, he knew that the Demon Brothers were known for covering their blades in poison.

He body-flickered behind the brothers and knocked both out in quick succession with a hit to the neck.

Barely paying his other genin any mind, Kakashi called out, “Naruto! The kunai were poisoned!”

Naruto's eyes widened, before his mouth set in a determined line. He took his own kunai and widened the cut, carefully letting contaminated blood seep out before removing the kunai and putting pressure on the wound.

Naruto’s actions were as surprising as they were worrisome. The unhesitating way in which he cut himself wasn't a good sign. And despite that, fresh genin should have at least flinched or shown some physical reaction to pain.

The problem with a wound like that was that there was no way to know that all the poison was removed. Naruto seemed to have expunged as much blood as possible without injury, but it may not have been enough. He wondered if the Kyuubi would filter out the poison, or if Naruto would succumb to it. With their limited supplies, there was nothing he could do to fix the situation. They were at least a one day's journey away from the village. Kakashi could make that in half an hour — and while carrying an injured; forty-five minutes tops. However, he couldn't leave his remaining genin behind with the client. The chances of further attacks are high. Taking them with him was also not an option. Even if he left behind the client, his fresh genin won't be able to keep pace (they couldn't even tree-hop yet). So Kakashi was stuck between a rock and a hard place and the only option was to move forward.

His first C-rank with this team and he already failed one of his genin.

 

* * *

 

Sakura felt useful, and it was an empowering feeling.

The training with her teammates gave her an edge she needed. She was always smart, but never had the mindset and the skill to fully utilize her intelligence. But learning more than the bare minimum to graduate gave her a taste of why she truly wanted to continue on this path.

She had a feeling that without ever honing her aim, sharpening her weak academy style to something more _her,_ that she would never have joined Sasuke-kun into the fray, never had been able to help him, work _with_ him. She felt like an equal to her teammates. They all had a role. Naruto protecting the Tazuna-san, her protecting Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun taking down those missing-nin.

Despite how scary it was to fight _for_ _real_ , it was exhilarating. The thrill of strategical throwing her kunai and shuriken to ensure Sasuke-kun is uninhibited in his close combat. She didn't trust herself to be fast enough, to hit strong enough, to fight upfront like him, but she was content with her role. She was needed, she was _vital_. And to Sasuke-kun, who was _relying_ on her.

But the fight ended all too suddenly. Sakura didn't notice exactly _how much_ projectiles were flung in Naruto's direction, having been preoccupied with only her immediate surroundings, and he was hit. And then Kakashi jumped out of his hiding spot and took down the missing-nin like it was _nothing._ And it turns out the edges of the weapons were _poisoned_ , and _if she was ever hit–_ Well, reality came back, and with that the sensibilities that this fight could have ended with one of them _dead_.

And Naruto was cut _deep_ , if the amount of blood soaking his jacket (a nice-cut dark blue and _not orange_ ) was any indication. But then, fearlessly, he deepened the cut to let out the poison. However, Sakura had her doubts about how much that would work. Telling by how deep the cut was originally, some of the infected blood must have already been pumped through his system. The only controllable factor was how much blood he was going to ultimately lose.

With that thought in mind, she took a roll of bandages from her pouch and offered them to Naruto. He gave her an approving smile and moved his injured arm towards her. She took initiative and began to wrap the cut — tight enough to stem the bleeding, but not enough to stop blood-flow — and hoped it won't be infected further that the already-present poison. Naruto would need stitches, but it was unlikely that anyone thought to bring any, seeing as this was a C-rank. And unless she was misinformed, C-ranks were supposed to be straightforward and uneventful.

Sasuke-kun seemed to come up with a similar conclusion and looked almost _concerned_ about Naruto, which, if anyone would have suggested to her a month earlier, she would have laughed straight into their face. Sure, Naruto may be strange (and sometimes scary), but he wasn't anywhere as bad as she initially anticipated. If anything, he endeared himself to her.

Kakashi-sensei got on Tazuna-san’s case for lying about the mission difficulty, going over how this team was under qualified for this mission, but after a sympathy-inducing sap story, they all agreed to continue.

He proceeded to briefly interrogate the nukenin, the so-called demon brothers, about their client and what measly information they had. Telling by Kakashi’s serious voice, he was worried. She didn't know his exact motivation for continuing the mission, but it better be good. His apprehension was grating on her, and she couldn't help but feel guilty. She _was_ the one to suggest such a mission, after all.

And slowly but steadily, as Sakura continued to fill the air with conversation, Sasuke continued to brood, and Kakashi read his porn, Naruto's color began to sap, his movements became less fluid, and his reaction time slowed. They were all aware of it, but there was nothing they could do.

When a sword the size of twice her body flew out of nowhere, Naruto had to be pushed down by Kakashi-sensei. She could _see_ the shakiness of his limbs, the clammy skin.  

This was going to be _bad._

 

* * *

 

 

How could he have made such an amateur mistake?

He should have dodged. He _should_ have dodged. But he wasn't as fast as he should be, and his short supply of chakra left him without augmented speed and constant aches in his joints. And so now he was poisoned.

Kakashi had to continue the mission — it would look bad on Konoha _and the team_ if they quit — and Naruto was tripping over his feet.

As they continued walking, he was becoming feverish. His breath became labored, and it was the most he could do to drag his feet down the path. Tremors wracked his body, and his vision was hazy. Coupled with blood loss and a painful cut, he could barely see Zabuza’s sword coming at his head. Kakashi pushed him from behind, knocking the air out of his chest.

And yet he pushed himself up, and pronounced with a shaky voice, “I'll go with Tazuna.”

Kakashi gave a heavy sigh, “Go on. All three of you are outmatched. I'll take care of this myself.”

  
He stumbled towards Tazuna, sensing his way through the fog when a powerful killing intent washed over them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've heard that if you make the protagonist more powerful, then you have to make the antagonist just as more powerful. But I was like, meh, why not just weaken Naruto instead? That way, I don't have to change any “canon” events. AKA im soooo lazy


	9. Hidden in the Mist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The encounter with Zabuza doesn't go so well for Sasuke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is heavily based on the manga. Some dialogue was taken directly. But if certain events were changed, or exaggerated, well; consider it my creative twists. (Even though this is probably terrible and repetitive, I had sooo much fun writing this!)

_ They found the body. _

_ Over a bloody puddle, a figure was draped — no, skewered — on leafless branches. They stemmed out of the ground like spikes.  _

_ “Mokuton,” Sakura whispered, eyes alight in horror.  _

_ But Naruto didn't know who the corpse belongs to —  _ couldn't _ know. Because that meant acknowledging that he failed, and he couldn't comprehend that. _

_He sensed the chakra of incoming Iwa-nin, and his blood boiled in rage. The air sizzled around him, warping the atmosphere_

_He saw red._

_ “ _ Naruto! _ ” _

  
  


* * *

  
  


Kakashi told them to abandon him and run away. 

He refused. 

Sakura was on the same line of thought as him. But they had an indisposed teammate quickly succumbing to poison. 

Sasuke was of the mind that Naruto was more adept at dodging. Something was off. Sometimes Naruto showed skills far beyond anything that he should know, and then the next day he demonstrated incompetence in skills that should come naturally by this point. A prime example t is the dobe’s taijutsu; it was obvious that he knew his own style by heart, but his execution was messy; over reaching and off balance. Sasuke hasn't had the chance to fully spar with him yet, but hoped he will get the chance further analyze the dobe. 

But now his teammate was essentially dead weight. He could see him unsteadily making him way towards the client. But then the mist obscured his vision.

He had enjoyed the fight from earlier; that test of skill. Sakura heavily contributed, to his surprise. He knew that she was finally taking training seriously, but that doesn't directly translate to genuine combat. He hoped she didn't assist him only because of how much she “loves” him. It was annoying. Was his appearance all girls ever noticed? He brushed them off in every way possible, but, to his undying frustration, they always came back. (He could never understand what the fuss was about, honestly.) But Sakura redeemed herself, and he couldn't box her under the label “unbearable” anymore.

Perhaps his teammates won't hold him back. 

Startled from his epiphany, Sasuke neglected to notice his rapidly changing surroundings. The air grew heavier with vapor, and a killer intent washed over. It was petrifying.

Naruto's earlier burst of anger was all but a water droplet in this ocean of  _ fear _ and  _ anger  _ (this  _ creature  _ will  _ kill  _ them) _.  _ It was terrifying, and his unsteady hands rattled his tightly clenched kunai. 

He was going to die. He won't ever achieve his ambition. His clan will never be avenged, and that man, that  _ monster _ , will never be put down. He wanted to scream and whimper all at the same time. He should just end it. He'll do anything to get away from this feeling. This hopelessness. When that uncanny voice echoed through the endless mist, the call of a demon describing his imminent death, he lost it.

A trembling kunai inched towards his neck, his breaths coming in uneven puffs. 

“Sasuke! Snap out of it!” A shrill voice shouted. It had a warped nature, echoing uncannily, and a ringing in his ears followed. But the sound came from much closer than he expected. 

He gave an abrupt inhale, head jerking back as he came back into himself. He brought down the kunai from his neck, horrified at what he had nearly done. But her back was turned from him, and he hoped, desperately, that she wasn't witness to his little  _ moment _ . 

He could hear the sound of a fight — the sound of metal on metal, kunai against sword — and the mist began to dissipate. He could  _ breath  _ again. 

Sakura stood in front of him in a defensive stance. She was affected far less than he was, to the point where she had to take care of  _ him _ while he was panicking under a bit of mist. Pathetic. He was so  _ weak _ . 

He could see his sensei relentlessly attacking the missing-nin. The butcher knife esque sword dwarfed Kakashi in an almost comical manner. But it only highlighted the bitter reality. They might just not make it back.

He felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, the faint breeze of a breath. He froze, his joints locking in place and body freezing. He could hear a deep, grating laugh; a show of amusement from a man who  _ knows  _ he's going to kill, and will  _ enjoy  _ it. He could feel the edge of the sword grazing his back, a butterfly’s caress of heavy metal. (He didn't know if it was a figment of his imagination, a precognition, or an actuality — he didn't care to find out). 

Sakura whirled around, large green eyes alight in terror, mouth formed in a small “oh”. Terror for him.

She is going to witness him die. And then that outcome would swiftly follow her. It was sad, he thought detachedly. He finally became attached to this  _ team _ , and then they are immediately ripped out from under him. 

The nukenin was saying something, but he couldn't comprehend his words. He was looking at Sakura. She should run. Why was she so stupid as to stand in place. Run, dammit! But he was frozen in place, unable to call out, a deer in headlights. He was incapable of giving her a chance to escape their inevitable doom.

But then her expression lightened, and her eyes focused behind him. 

“Kakashi-sensei!”

  
  


* * *

  
  


They may’ve had a rocky start, but when the blond midget pitched forward, he caught him before he face planted. Tazuna did owe him his life — several times over. The kid was only injured because he stopped Tazuna from being skewered by knives. He knew he shouldn't have lied about the mission, but he was desperate. He just hoped he wouldn't have the death of a child on his conscience.

He was just leaning him up against a tree when that vicious _ intensity  _ coupled with a chilling fog washed over. It was  _ crippling, _ to say the least. It was similar to the feeling he got from the blond, but now that he was more sober, he could fully appreciate the sheer terror it invoked. 

But he was an adult man, he survived Gato’s reign for God’s sake! And yet his thoughts couldn't remain steady in his brief bravo, sinking to all the ways he and his family were going to get killed in a bloody, gruesome fashion. He was a shaking, stuttering mess by the time  _ it  _ dissipated.

He glanced down at the blond. His expression was slack, unbothered by the surroundings.  His mouth was untensed, a narrow opening between his lips, drool escaping. But the poison must have been doing  _ something  _ horrible to the boy. The waxen sheen to his skin, the scars (those  _ definitely _ weren't there earlier), the deep shadows beneath restless eyes. He could  _ see  _ the rapid-eye movement below otherwise still eyelids. Shallow rasps wheezed through a motionless body unevenly. Every so often, he stopped breathing entirely, then moments later seized back to life, cycle repeating. Tazuna had doubts that the genin would reawaken, and hoped the sensei wouldn't kill him for it. He had to free his family, and his village, from the fist of the  _ tyrant _ , after all. 

But the situation was dire for the remaining ninja as well. From his angle, he could faintly make out the on goings of the genin and the man Gato sent to kill him. The black haired boy had a sword at his back, and stared at his fellow genin like she was the last thing he'll ever see. He was disgusted to see such an expression on a child; the fact that it was his fault fed his shame. But he had a responsibility to provide for his community, and if his decisions gave him a heavy conscience, so be it. 

But then the jounin appeared behind the mercenary, a kunai straight against his throat. Both genin jumped out of harm's way, clearly skittish about what had almost happened. The ninja died, clearly, but then  _ came back _ a second later. And then the missing-nin teleported behind the jounin, and sliced him in half. His only hope was crushed. But the very same action occurred; his bleeding body melted into water. 

It was then Naruto's body began to emit a red smoke. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Sakura was terrified. That killer intent reaped havoc on her mind. But she didn't want to die, and  _ refused  _ to do so on her first mission. She had a family to go back to, a boy to seduce, and a  _ life.  _ Her meek chakra flared in response to her agitation. She heard, or rather  _ felt _ , a  _ crack _ , and suddenly everything was still. 

She could hear wind whistling past her ears, the faint aftershocks via a trembling jaw. The mist gained an eerie quality. She was all alone, no one in sight. But the echos of a fight surrounded her, an unsteady beat of metal to metal, the grinding of an edge to an edge. And the unsteady gasps of someone behind her. 

She ran towards the noise, unheeding the all encompassing fog. She refused to let the uneven ground, the tripping roots to get to her. She had one mission on her mind, one objective.  _ Get to Sasuke _ . 

And she found him with his own kunai against his neck. The illusion of fear refused to let go of Sasuke-kun, and she could  _ see _ the terror he was feeling. She had to stop him, now!

“Sasuke! Snap out of it!” She yelled, pitching her voice high to penetrate the muting nature of the mist. The sound was warped, her immediate surroundings produced white noise, but a resonance was heard from anything farther than a certain distance. She couldn't hear herself shout, but Sasuke-kun’s jerk back to reality was all she had to rely on

She turned her back to him, trusting that he won't let anything hit her. She didn't want him to know that she saw what he had almost done. He would probably resent her. He, like anyone, had weaknesses, but knowing that someone ( _ she _ ) was witness to one of them would  _ not  _ endear herself to him. And she would be expected to acknowledge his near action. Shinobi were supposed to report these types of behaviors,  _ suicide risks _ , to a superior. She knew how important his career was to Sasuke-kun, and she refused to be the one who ruins it. 

But a quick startled gasp, and another set of breathing made her realize something was  _ very  _ wrong. 

She swiftly turned, kunai raised to guard her face. Her initial determination fell to horror. So this is how it was going to end, huh? No grand dreams, no power, no _Sasuke_. Just a big old sword. And on their first big mission of all times. She stifled a giggle at the thought; it was no time for hysterics.

A gruff, unpleasant voice cut into her thoughts: “Neither of you two are  _ real  _ ninja. If you were, you'd be marked down in my book: the bingo book. You're only snot-nosed kids playing a game. Look at you quivering in terror. But cutting you down will be just as sweet.” He gave her a mean look from behind Sasuke-kun’s back.

This missing-nin sure liked to talk. She didn't care to listen. Sasuke was looking at her desperately, eyes _screaming_ to run _._ But she wouldn't, _refused_ to abandon him. She isn't scum, after all.

“This is your end,” the nukenin intoned, looking directly at her as his sword positioned against Sasuke-kun’s back. 

“No, it's yours!” Kakashi-sensei brought a kunai down on sword-wielder’s throat. 

“Kakashi-sensei!” She exclaimed, in equal parts relief and to inform Sasuke. His face was chalk white, and was sweating profusely. He had frozen up, and she had had to snap him out of it. 

His eyes regained focus and he jumped out of range. Sakura followed him. 

The nin reappeared behind Kakashi, large sword hanging at his back. 

“Copy-nin Kakashi of the Sharingan, this will be a good battle,” enthused the ninja. She could practically see a shark-like grin beneath the bandages.  

“Sharingan?” Sasuke repeated, “only those of the Uchiha clan can develop those eyes.” His eyes narrowed in suspicion, all former tention replaced. It was then she noticed Kakashi-sensei’s dislodged hitai-ate, and the bright red eye beneath a long scar. 

“Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Mist,” Kakashi countered, then turned to them, reassuring “I won't let my comrades die.” 

The bolstering smile was obvious, despite the mask, and she felt  _ hope  _ bubble in her chest. They may make it, after all. 

But this moment cost him. Zabuza cleaved Kakashi-sensei in half, and blood splattered. 

Sasuke-kun gave a sharp inhale, and she couldn't help but scream, “Kakashi-sensei!” 

But what she initially perceived as blood dulled in color until it reached translucency, and what she had perceived as Kakashi-sensei collapsed into a puddle, losing all form. 

And Kakashi's kunai at the Demon of the Mist’s neck. 

“It’s over.” Those words made Sakura feel like cheering. If one escaped her mouth, well, who could blame her?

But then Zabuza gave a sinister laugh despite his position, “It’s over? You don’t get it. There is no way you can defeat me with your monkey-like imitations!”

  
  


* * *

  
  


Sasuke longed, desperately, for the fight to be over. He wanted to put this behind him, to forget about the spine-chilling  _ fear  _ he felt at the hands of this nukenin. His actions — or rather, inaction — were shameful. How will he ever avenge his clan, if he turns into a train wreck on his first mission?  _ That man  _ was completing these types of missions since he was eight. Solo. 

But the Demon continued to speak, uncaring of the kunai, his face twisted up in amusement: “Hehe, but that was impressive of you. By the time you spoke to those play-nin, you had already copied my Water Clone no Jutsu.” 

When Kakashi didn't comment, Zabuza forged forwards, “You had your clone say those words to attract my attention while the real you, hidden in the mist, watched me. Nice plan…” he trailed off. 

Kakashi had been using the nukenin’s techniques against him this whole time! Sasuke found the phenomenon amazing, the way a jounin could seemingly come up with such an intricate plan on the spot. This was the prowess of a jounin. It was then he realized how much he had been underestimating Kakashi, after all this time. Sakura was equally entranced in the conversation, her slowly widening eyes clearly revealing her apt attention.

“But…” and then he was behind Kakashi, two copies of Zabuza visible, “I'm not that easy."

“That one’s a fake too?!” Sakura yelped. 

Sasuke realized they were doing no good standing around. Protecting the client should be their first prerogative.

“Sakura, we should protect Tazuna,” he initiated, trying to do something useful for once in this mission.

“But Sasuke-kun,” her head ticked to the side, silently assessing him, concern clearly written in her brow. She let out a sigh. “Alright. Let's go.”

With Naruto as he was, the client was unprotected. He just hoped that the dobe hasn't dropped dead yet. It would be just his luck that they narrowly dodged death, only to have their teammate die to an unavoidable element. 

He could hear Kakashi grunt, (most likely a hit to the stomach,) and a splash. 

It gave him a bad flavor in his mouth to leave his sensei to the tender mercies of the swordsman, but they were both clearly jounin. His ability to interfere with the fight was minimal — all he’ll do is get himself, then Kakashi, then everyone else killed.

So he continued to head in the client’s direction, trusting Sakura to follow him. Momochi’s audible taunting was grinding on his nerves, but when you were as powerful as  _ that _ , you could afford to talk however much you like during a fight. He silently vowed to himself that, if he make it through this, he will never be a shinobi who talked through every move; who turned a  _ fight _ into verbal sparring. 

But when a powerful, malicious chakra began to permeate the surroundings, clearly from Naruto's direction, he hesitated. His previous reaction to killing intent was something he wanted to avoid. Whatever it was, he would be useless against it. 

“Sasuke-kun, what  _ is  _ that?” Sakura seemed to notice as well, but she was keeping up with him, uncowed. 

Sakura seems to continuously surprise him. Going into this team, he thought that she’ll remain her useless fangirl self. But she began to mature over the weeks following their graduation, taking training seriously, and being a _ninja_ seriously. And now she wasn't that _child_ on their team, the one who stood on the sidelines and had to be rescued (no, that was _him_ now). She became an active participant of the team. Sure, she still had an obsession with him, but it mellowed to the point of a simple annoyance; not something he could contempt her for.

“I don't know,” he was at a loss. But he had a feeling that it had something to do with his blond haired teammate. After all, everything these days seemed revolve around him in some fashion or another.

But then he noticed the fight went silent, and worry crept up on Sasuke. If Kakashi lost, they would all be killed. He couldn’t let that happen. 

“Sakura, I’m going back.” He informed her, turning back. 

“What?! Why?” 

“Listen to the fight,” at her dawning look, he affirmed, “Exactly. Something must of happened. I’m going to find out.”

She had a cross look on her face, but sighed, “Alright. But I’m coming with you.”

“Hn.”

He was glad, in a way. Facing Zabuza was  _ not  _ something he wanted to do. Not that he wanted to at all. But having someone at his back was…  _ comforting _ . And he knew he needed any help he could get. And so he returned to the clearing, Sakura at his side, and saw a body of water. More importantly, they saw Kakashi suspended  _ in _ water above the water. It was clear the nukenin was waiting for him to drown.  _ Or baiting them. _

When Kakashi caught sight of them, he paled, eye widening in shock and warning. The enemy nin had his arm in the floating water, and was looking at them like a carnivore at prey.

“Just the brats. Don’t worry, I’ll get to you in a moment.” The Demon of the Mist had his other hand stagnant in a seal.

“You two!! Take Tazuna-san and Naruto and run away! You have no chance at beating him!” Kakashi yelled.

As if he didn’t know that. But he  _ wanted  _ his sensei to survive. He couldn’t just leave him like this. And he refused to be so cowardly. He already disgraced himself with his earlier action, he won’t act as such again. 

“As long as he’s keeping me trapped in this prison, he can’t move. The water clone cannot go very far from his real body. Just run away  _ now _ !!”

  
But Sakura met his eyes determinedly, and he shared the sentiment. Kakashi just provided key information about how to get out of the situation. If they get the missing-nin to move, Kakashi will be freed. The only obstacle was the clone, but he had a plan.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I had my midyear exams and now I'm a week behind on on my writing schedule! Oh well, at least I got good grades... lol


	10. Awakenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura and Sasuke free Kakashi and deal with the backlash.

_“Naruto! Wake up!” someone yelled._

_His head was foggy. Eyes opening, the sky greeted him and was that pink?_

_Sakura was staring down at him, her eyes misted and yet as strong as steel._

_He looked around. It seemed he was in the center of a crater. He could smell ash in the air._

_“Sa-Sakura, what happened?” He asked. He couldn’t remember. He felt like his brain was stuffed with cotton, and everything was much too bright. He couldn’t remember a thing. How did he get here? Why? Sakura looked sad, did he do something?_

_“Kakashi-sensei is dead.” Her voice was monotone, but it broke at the last syllable._

_He… was dead? Naruto blinked a few times, the moisture in his eyes startling him. That couldn’t– no, how–_ what _? He refused!_

_But then his eyes landed on that familiar body, that familiar hair, those empty eye sockets._

_And then the memories flooded back, and it was all he could do to hold on to Sakura and push through them._

  


* * *

  


Kakashi found it tragically amusing how the team’s strongest were beaten the most thoroughly. Naruto and the poisoned kunai; which put him in a comatose state. Sasuke and the killing intent, which affected him far more than it should (but those with more traumatic memories were more susceptible to it, after all). The only way to stop its effects was to build up tolerance, or break it’s hold by stopping one's chakra flow. And Sakura did just that. The chakra control and intent required for such a feat was immense. She may be the weakest physically, but her determination will take her bounds and leaps from where she is today. That is, if they escape like he _told_ them to.

His situation was laughable. He underestimated the nukenin, one of the seven swordsman of the mist, and now his team was paying for it.

Once his students escaped, he was relieved. He thought they would do the sensible thing and _run away_. Having been occupied, ducking underneath one of the legendary swords from Hidden Mist and destroying the clone in front of him, he couldn't keep a good eye on his genin’s activities. His first mistake. Then, Zabuza kicked him from behind directly into the water. His fatal mistake was to allow himself to fall into the water, resulting in imprisonment. With no one to defend the genin.

But then his two conscious students returned, and his words couldn't persuade them to escape. The creeping chakra from the Kyuubi was like a bad omen.

It was weak — nothing like _that_ _day_ — but a steady trickle secreted into the air. It was alarming, but Kakashi rationalized it as Naruto healing. He _refused_ it being something else. The prospect that the Nine-tailed demon-fox was taking advantage of Naruto's weakened state was debilitating. But he would  imagine that the chakra would be much more _potent_ if that was the reality of the situation.

The two genin had a plan to free him. It was quite a show of teamwork. Sakura threw a spray of shuriken at both the clone and the real body. Simultaneously, Sasuke threw a handful of shuriken as well as single kunai at the real body of the nukenin. The kunai was hidden by the shuriken, of which the clone was taking out with his sword. But then that small kunai turned into a windmill shuriken, right inside the guard of the clone. The clone was destroyed. The large shuriken continued its trajectory towards the real body and Zabuza was forced into movement.

Zabuza grabbed onto the windmill shuriken at the same moment he did, leaving them at a standstill.

“Heh, I got distracted and released the jutsu.” Zabuza put down his students’ achievements. Not acceptable. Half this battle was getting the verbal upper hand on the opponent: the mental component just as prominent as the physical.

“Wrong! You didn't release it. You were ‘forced’ to release it.”

He could see his opponent’s agitation. Good. One more move and it was the nail in the coffin. Kakashi pressed on: “I'll tell you that I don't fall for the same jutsu twice. What will you do?”

The nukenin released the shuriken, jumping back further into the water. Kakashi swung the large weapon towards him, but it ultimately hit a tree off in the distance. He figured his genin would likely want that weapon back — such large shuriken, while not all that useful in his professional opinion, were very expensive.

The nin’s fingers were rapidly running through seals, and Kakashi immediately began copying; his sharingan spinning as he swiftly ran through the same seals. The nukenin growled in agitation, but only sped up in retaliation. Kakashi counted on this happening; an angry opponent was more prone to mistakes, after all. What appeared to be precognition on Kakashi’s part, was actually a well applied a genjutsu over Zabuza’s perception. Kakashi was truly milliseconds behind him. Zabuza was receiving the feedback of his actions in delay; meaning that with every twitch of his fingers, Zabuza only comprehended his movements a precious fraction of a second late. If Zabuza took time to glance at his hands, he would have known something was off.

After over forty hand seals, both ninja cried simultaneously: “Water Dragon Blast no jutsu!”

And just like Kakashi anticipated, the two techniques counteracted each other.

Zabuza swung his oversized sword at him, and he blocked with the metal plate on his hand guard. Kakashi could hear the metal on metal grinding, and could only trust in the good manufacturing of his equipment.

  


* * *

  


Sakura was in awe.

A battle between jounin was like nothing she’d ever seen before. All that unrestrained power clashing against each other was epic in nature. So despite any good sense to _get out of the way_ , she remained rooted to her spot, watching on. These were two ninja revered for their fighting prowess, and it was clear how they got such reputations.

And so she watched, unheeding of the festering malevolent chakra a short distance away.

But when Kakashi began copying his opponent’s moves, a mirror image of the missing-nin’s techniques, she witnessed _exactly_ how he got his infamous reputation. The potential of that _sharingan_ was extraordinary. And Sasuke-kun could get one too.

She's heard of this extraordinary kekkei genkai, but it was mostly rumors and hushed whispers from fellow classmates. With the entire Uchiha clan wiped out (except for Sasuke-kun!), Sasuke-kun is supposedly the sole inheritor of this powerful bloodline. But the rumors she heard were just that; rumors. (And Kakashi-sensei seemed to have one too.) And she refused to be taken by surprise of any further abilities, so she couldn't help but ask a direct source of that information:

“Sasuke-kun, what does the Sharingan _do_?”

He gave her a long look, but simply sighed and answered, “It’s the Uchiha’s dōjutsu. Only select members of the clan can unlock this bloodline. Kakashi _shouldn't_ have it,” an agitated crease appeared between his eyes. “And, like some other dōjutsu, it allows the user to detect and defeat any tai, gen and ninjutsu. But what makes it truly _superior_ is its ability to copy any technique.”

He had a strange expression; wary yet determined. About what, she didn't know.

Kakashi and the nin’s hands were flickering in near invisible movements, and they cried in unison, “Water Dragon Blast no jutsu!”

Sakura was so enamored with the proceeding that she didn't think to get out of the way in time. But someone grabbed her from behind, wrapping an arm around her waist, and jumped back right out of reach of the devastating jutsu. The water cascaded right over where they were just standing, and the area was totally flooded.

“Sakura!” Sasuke-kun admonished, “You could have nearly drowned! Why did you get out of the way?!”

Sasuke-kun had his hand around her waist? Sasuke-kun saved her? But he was mad at her. No, he was _worried_ about her. He was breathing hard, and his wide-eyed look conveyed a sense of panic. She felt guilty. She _knew_ that this fight was taking a toll on him, but instead of upping her game, she caused him more anxiety. But taking in her own wet and exhausted state, perhaps Sakura wasn't fairing as well as she thought either.

She gave an apologetic smile. But then she looked around, and noticed it.

“Sasuke-kun, the mist! It's gone!” She enthused in relief. Sasuke seemed to forget about his momentary displeasure with her as he looked around.

The water from the jutsu must have absorbed the water in the air; the eerie mist had mostly dissipated. But as all her muted senses began to function, the permeating red from Naruto’s direction became all too obvious, along with a stifling chakra.

Simultaneously, Kakashi's fight seemed to come to an end, with Kakashi _exploding_ with water, and the missing-nin receiving the brunt of it. And then a young hunter-nin from Kiri struck the powerful nin with senbon right through his neck and killed him. Easily. He then quickly thanked Kakashi-sensei and left with the body. All while she and Sasuke-kun stood in open mouthed shock.

But when Kakashi-sensei fell flat on his face, Sakura burst into action: “Sasuke-kun! Could you pick up Kakashi-sensei? I'll go get the others.”

Sasuke blinked a few times, looking at her incredulously. For a moment, she thought he would laugh her off, refusing her stupid suggestion. But then he gave her his usual monotone expression, and jumped over to Kakashi's still body.

After a short moment, she made her way to Tazuna-san and Naruto. Naruto looked like a discarded rag doll. Tazuna had set him up against a tree, but his limbs were flung haphazardly, head hanging down onto his chest. Added with blotchy pale skin and the shallow, uneven breaths, she would have thought him dead if not for the obvious chakra he was expelling.

It was…  a frightening prospect, to consider how near death he was. She had a feeling that, without _whatever_ that red stuff was, this would have been the last time she saw him. This physical representation was different than her and Sasuke’s brush with death in that she could _see_ what could have happened to them, reflected on their teammate. It was frank, and it was something she needed to keep in mind for the next battle. The knowledge that he was alive was comforting, but she just realized how unsatisfying it was to only _narrowly_ escape her death, and only at her sensei’s benevolent hand. But he won't always be there.

She dropped ungracefully to her knees besides Naruto, her hand hovering uncertainly above his arm. She didn't know what ill effects this substance could do to her. But she was beyond caring, so she gripped his forearm and tugged him up. Dragging an unresponsive body was much more difficult than she expected. Despite a radiating heat, she felt no strange effects, but she was careful to only contact him through his clothes.

“Do you need help with that? I could hold him if you’d like?” Tazuna-san asked, genuine concern and guilt evident in his eyes.

She took in her own tired state, and doubted she would last for the remainder of the journey, nevertheless do it while carrying Naruto.

“Please,” she answered with a tight smile, “but don't touch his skin; obvious reasons.”

“Yeah, got it,” he grunted, easily hefting up Naruto over a shoulder.

At her surprised look, he reminded her: “I'm a bridge builder. Lifting a runt like this is a piece of cake in comparison.”

She let out a sound of agreement, and trekked back to Sasuke-kun. He… it was an amusing sight, and she couldn't stop her short giggle. Sasuke-kun was clearly very strong, and positioned Kakashi-sensei in a piggyback-like fashion, his slack upper body digging into Sasuke's shoulder. She wondered if he could drool through his mask.

She could hear Tazuna-san cover up a laugh, and she couldn't cover up her snort. Sasuke-kun’s responding glare (that fully conveyed his embarrassment and discomfort) was well worth it.

Thankfully, they were close to their destination and a small rowboat was waiting for them. When they positioned Kakashi and Naruto, Sakura observed Naruto more carefully. She already deduced that Kakashi was out due to chakra exhaustion, a serious and possibly fatal condition due to lack of chakra, an essential life force, but she didn't know what poison Naruto was hit with, and therefore couldn't predict whether he would even wake up or not. Chakra exhaustion had a predetermined formula; unconsciousness, dizziness and lightheadedness, sore muscles, and a recovery time of up to a week and a half, depending on how severe. She was grateful for her excursions to the library to freshen up on various topics that were only touched upon in the academy, but just recognizing symptoms was turning out to be woefully useless.

But Naruto was showing signs of overall exhaustion that she was positive don't develop over the course of an hour. Despite any poison. She remembered his single talent in the academy and how sick he appeared a short while after graduation, and couldn't help but put two and two. And those marks on his face looked a lot more like mangled scars than black marker (which she always assumed they were; the possibility that they were clan markings didn't even occur to her). What was going on with her teammate?

She got on the rickety boat, and Sasuke-kun joined her by her side. Tazuna sat up front with the “captain of this esteemed boat.” Sakura would have considered this romantic under any other circumstances. But she couldn't muster up too much dissatisfaction with the lack of a date, as her mind was preoccupied with the thoughts of Naruto's uncertain survival. And she couldn't even do anything about it.

She stared, unfocused, into the sea engulfed in fog, and didn't notice her own tears.

  


* * *

  


Kakashi was incapacitated, Naruto was debilitated for an indeterminable amount of time, and Sakura was crying by his side. And he wanted this mission to end already. Great.

That hunter-nin. He was their age, but already so capable. Zabuza didn't even know the nin was there until he was struck through the neck and killed. With senbon. (Something was nagging at him, but he couldn't quite place it.)

But then, out of the fog, he could make out the top of a bridge far above them. Sakura broke out of her stupor with an echoing gasp, fingers hastily wiping the tears off her face. It was an impressive piece of architecture, and Sasuke was shocked by the sheer size. When the client talked about his “ _super_ bridge,” Sasuke thought he was exaggerating. But it was clearly just as massive as he depicted.

“Hey! Be quiet back there! Wouldn't wanna ‘lert Gato we're here, do ya!?” Tazuna’s “friend” harshly _whispered_.

_Hypocrite,_ Sasuke thought, _he made just as much noise as Sakura._ But he was too tired to give a reaction; starting an argument was illogical, regardless.

Once the bridge disappeared from sight, Sasuke could make out the shore of the land. Despite the flat water, Sasuke was beginning to feel sick on the boat. He never had cause to be on one, and the unfamiliar rocking motion served to make him nauseated. So the docking of the boat was a relief.

“You owe me for this,” The fisherman’s voice grated.

“Yeah, yeah. Don't worry ‘bout it. When the bridge will be finished…” Tazuna’s voice trailed off wistfully.

The other man made a disdained noise, and gave Tazuna a mocking smile: “When I see it for my own eyes, old man.”

Tazuna sighed, “I’ll give you some of our vegetables. Deal?”

“Tch, whatever,” he sneered.

Tazuna helped them get the rest of the team out, and bid the rude fisherman farewell. He didn't get a reply.

Sasuke began to pick up their sensei, when Tazuna interfered: “You carried him earlier. Take the blond, this time.”

Sasuke made a noncommittal noise, and turned to Naruto's still form. He knew that Tazuna was pitying him, but he would have a tough time carrying a full grown man after their _long_ day. All he wanted was a flat surface to sleep on. So he gracelessly picked up the dobe with no dispute.

When they got to the run-down house, the client’s daughter exclaimed “oh my” and ran up to get them a sleeping arrangement.

  


* * *

  


Naruto felt like he was floating. No worries, no stress, no pains and aches. Nothing but a feeling of relief akin to that of laying on a soft bed after months of restlessness. It was rejuvenating. He wished he could stay like this _forever._

_Kit._

Naruto could pick up a soft murmur. But he liked this quiet.

_Kit!_

But something was poking at his consciousness, and he couldn't bat it away.

“Kit! _Stupid dumb little human ignoring me_!”

And suddenly he jolted into awareness. This was the first time he heard Kurama’s voice in months, and he couldn't be more overwhelmed with relief. But then the circumstances surrounding this encounter ventured into his conscience, and he couldn't help but fret about his team.

He struggled to his feet, but shortly realized he was in his mindscape. The good old sewer.

“Kurama! Woke up from your nap?” Naruto knew he was stating the obvious, but the bijuu’s awakening was a balm on his conscience.

“Prematurely, might I add,” Kurama deadpanned. “But then again, you've always been terrible with chakra regulation.”

“What can I say, I've gotten used to your endless supply,” Naruto quickly transitioned to their usual bickering.

“No excuse,” Kurama replied, the serious words belated by their lighthearted tone.

“Well, I was beginning to worry I'd never see you again,” he couldn't help but inform him, feeling so alleviated at this turn of events.

“Hmph, can't get rid of me that easily,” Kurama assuaged his worries. “But you put me behind schedule. By remaining dormant, my chakra was regenerating at an accelerated rate. But then my stupid container poisoned himself with a chakra absorbing substance. Normally, your large reserves would have overpowered it, but as you are… it a miracle that I managed to step in on time. I am currently burning through it, but it is unfortunately visible.”

“What do you mean?” If Sakura and Sasuke found out, it could ruin the tentative balance they all found with each other.

“You're literally glowing red.” At Naruto's alarmed look, the Kyuubi only glared: “You brought this on yourself. You let yourself be struck with that kunai, after all. Forgetting that it was poisoned was your own downfall.”

Naruto sighed through his nose. He didn't _know_ why he let that kunai graze his arm. Perhaps it was to show his team that he didn't know everything and made mistakes. Perhaps his coordination wasn't as acclimated as he thought. Or maybe it was for more sinister reasons, coming from the dark recesses of his subconscious. But he knew exactly what Kurama was accusing him of, and he couldn't help but grimace.

“Well, at least you're awake now,” Naruto gave an uncomfortable chuckle.

The giant fox gave a strong huff through his nose, looking down at him unsatisfied.

“I'm going into a sub-dormant state. I currently don't have enough chakra to give you for anything other than bare necessities. Use your own. I don't have enough power to talk to you while you're awake, so however nice this reunion was, don't make it a commonality.” He paused, then added dryly, “And use some common sense for the first time in your life, I'm sure it will do you well.”

Naruto gave an exaggerated indignant look, but knew that the nine-tails pointed out some things he had to evaluate. He would miss Kurama, but knew that if he inhibited any excessive chakra usage, the bijuu would recover faster. But at least the weight of having a time limit on his _life_ was mitigated. Even if a bare minimum of Kurama’s chakra continued to cycle into his own, he would survive.

“Go back to your humans. It should be around evening.”

Naruto felt his surroundings shift and morph until all he saw was the inside of his eyelids.

His eyes opened to an irate sensei sitting beside his futon, a sharp eye scrutinizing his face.

_Oh shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, thank you all so much for 200 kudos! I never expected to get that many, especially not on my first fanfic! And thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Feedback only helps me improve!


	11. Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi wakes up; let the tree walking commence!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned this ark to be 4-6 chapters maximum. It disagreed.

_ Sakura sealed the body up, while Naruto watched on; a grim expression twisting up his face. He couldn't decide if he wanted to go on a rampage until he killed whoever was responsible, scream at the world that clearly hated him, or just curl up in a corner and try to _ forget. 

_ But Naruto’s loss of control drew attention. He could feel the bright chakra signatures heading this way. As much as Naruto wanted to lose himself in a fight he may not actually win (the Tsuchikage and his subordinates have a reputation), he refused to willingly put Sakura in harm's way. Because he  _ knows _ she'll stay and fight, despite any protests of common sense.  _

_ They shared a tight look and jumped out of the impact zone. The barren wasteland was vast, with the occasional shrub decorating the jutting rocks.  _

_Naruto knew the dire consequences they would face back in Konohagakure_ _for their actions. With Shimura Danzo in charge, they won't be receiving much slack. But with Sakura’s and his_ positions _in the village, they won't be so easily handed over to Iwagakure in retribution. Sakura's time spent as the Hokage’s apprentice gave her invaluable information about the in-works of the village. An enemy gaining their hands on that knowledge could ruin the village precarious existence. Instead, they'll likely be put under probation, and kept under constant surveillance for years to come._

_ Their two-man team was quickly outpacing the pursuing group.  _

_ Soon, sparse forest overtook the lifeless landscape. They continued straight across what once was the borders of the great fire nation. The trails once leading to the famous Konohagakure were left to the whims of nature, but any Konoha-nin instinctively knows the way back home. _

_ With the addition of trees, their journey hastened due to their instilled familiarity with the terrain. But when Naruto sensed, or rather, didn't, the chakra presence of Danzo’s root coming to escort them back to the village, Naruto knew something was wrong.  _

_ “Naruto,” came Sakura's terse recognition.  _

_ He gave a sharp nod, and sped up. The muted taps of Sakura's landings kept even pace to his own.  _

_ The horizon was clear, no cloud in sight. But then a resonating  _ boom  _ blew his hair off his face, and the faint scent of ash tickled his nose.  _

_ Sakura gave a gasp and Naruto feared for those left behind at the camps.  _

_ But it seemed Naruto was too late. And the world burned. _   
  


 

* * *

  
  


_ His eyes opened to an irate sensei sitting beside his futon, a sharp eye scrutinizing his face. _

_ Oh shit. _

Naruto stared up apprehensively at Kakashi-sensei. He was caught right handed. A serious expression stared back at him.

“Mah, Naruto. Can't give me an easy time, huh?” His tone didn't match his voice. 

It was then understanding hit him with all its accompanying weight. His eyes. He didn't henge them. They were purple and slit and staring into the world for all to see. For  _ Kakashi  _ to see. And judge. And report to the Hokage, which will in turn inform Danzo. Which is all bad news for him. If he gets interrogated, which he  _ will _ , they'll find out  _ everything _ , and they  _ can't.  _ The can't know how much he failed them, how much trouble he caused for the village. He wouldn't begrudge them for  _ putting him down _ for what he did, even if it hasn’t happened yet. But then he won't be able to  _ save _ them. Who knew what Danzo would do with that knowledge?! He could-

“ _ Naruto,  _ calm down.” Kakashi commanded firmly, hand resting on his shoulder. 

Naruto realized that he nearly drove himself into a panic attack. That hasn't happened since that first week, with all those familiar faces- Naruto stopped himself there. He had to relax; his decision making skills and ability to talk his way out of things tended to escape him if he was too emotionally compromised. He took a deep breath, then out. He focused on the scent of the air, the feel of the rough futon against his back, and centered himself. (Sakura had walked him through those steps so many times that it was nearly second nature to him.)

“Sorry,” Naruto apologized. For what, he didn't know. It could have been for wasting his time, for failing, for  _ burdening _ the team during their difficult fight with Zabuza. 

Kakashi gave him a momentary quizzical look, but then gave a resigned sigh, “You're causing me so much trouble, you know that?”

Naruto couldn't help but grimace, gaze flickering downwards.

“When did all this,” Kakashi gestured at his face, “happen?”

With some quick thinking, Naruto responded, “The day I was informed of my  _ status _ , I may have… err- contacted the Kyuubi? I mean, not entirely on purpose, but later that night, well, I didn't really believe it all… so I just…” he gave a shrug, “So, getting direct contact did all this. And you  _ know _ how much the villagers hate me! So I  _ had  _ to hide it!” He knew he was coming off desperate, but he  _ was _ . Kakashi had to believe him, to let this  _ go _ . 

Telling him that it was a recent development was impossible — he already gave himself away with his initial reaction. This way, he could also excuse his strange behavioral change after graduation. The likelihood that Kakashi will buy it is slim anyways, regardless of any excuse he cooks up.

He gave a resigned sigh, but thankfully didn’t dig any further. “Alright, alright. I'll take that into consideration. You should go rest some more; that poison took its toll.” 

Kakashi stood up, his sharp gaze looking down assessing. He then turned dismissively, limping out of the room on a pair of crutches, before leaning against the doorway, adding, “You should start thinking about how to explain this to your teammates.”

He left, leaving Naruto in uneasy rumination.

  
  


* * *

  
  


His sharingan was to be used as last resort; this was a reminder. When he woke up, sore limbs and fatigue, he noticed his wounds have been haphazardly bandaged. The stiffness of his joints indicated that he’d been asleep for longer than a day. The thin mattress was not helping.

Sakura sat a few feet away, slouched against the wall with a distant gaze. He gave a cough to alert her to his waking. 

She quickly straightened, hitting her head on the angled wall behind her. She gave a short hiss of pain, clutching the back of her head and glaring balefully. But then her eyes landed on him, and her disgruntled expression transformed into a large grin, relief shining in her eyes. 

“Kakashi-sensei! You’re awake!” She then turned to the doorway and yelled, “Sasuke-kun! Kakashi-sensei is awake!”

He gave her a reassuring smile, but then his thoughts turned to their third teammate. Naruto was poisoned and began emitting the Kyuubi’s chakra before he was knocked unconscious. Telling by Sakura's singular address to Sakura, Naruto hasn't woken up yet. He's obviously not dead — he doubted Sakura would be so enthusiastic if that was the reality — so he wondered how the blond jinchuriki was faring. And why it took so long for the Nine-Tail’s chakra to kick in. He was told by the Hokage that the seal made it so that Naruto had accelerated healing, but Naruto demonstrated a much slower paced regeneration: more akin to the average human than one of a jinchuriki. 

When he could hear Sasuke's footsteps climbing up the stairs, he asked Sakura, “What about Naruto?” 

She got a pinched look on her face, before biting on her lip and looking down. “Well… he stopped glowing red? And he's not as pale as before. But it's been two days, and neither of you woke up until now…”

“He's still unconscious,” Sasuke added from the doorway. He walked over, and stood next to Sakura. 

Kakashi was thankful that no one else attacked his genin after the fight with Zabuza. The last thing he remembered was a hunter-nun using senbon to subdue  _ his _ opponent before body-flickering away.  _ Senbon _ : not a usual weapon for killing. He would bet his hitai-ate that Zabuza was still alive and kicking with his  _ associate _ . But waking up from a state of death took at least a week or two of recovery. So he had time to train his brats.

“Sasuke, Sakura. Zabuza is alive.” Kakashi told them, keeping his tone at an even level. 

“What!?” Sakura screeched, while Sasuke looked resigned, as if someone confirmed his suspicions.

“Sasuke, you expected this.” Kakashi observed aloud. 

“Hn. Senbon aren't often used to fatally harm someone. I knew something was off.”  _ But wanting to be proven wrong  _ was written clear across his face. Interesting. He would have thought the last Uchiha would have jumped at the chance to fight a stronger opponent. Perhaps the fight beat out some of that rookie-genin arrogance. 

“So what's stopping him from attacking us now?!” Sakura exclaimed, anxiously fidgeting with the hem of her dress. 

“He was put a state of momentary death. Such a state takes a while before full recovery. If we're lucky, we'll have two weeks.” At Sakura’s and Sasuke's exchanged looks, he added, “In the meantime, I’ll train you to the best of my ability.”

“But Kakashi-sensei, you said it yourself, genin don't stand a chance against a jounin.” Sakura intoned incredulously. 

“But this way you'll be more prepared. You're forgetting about our missing-nin’s associat. Having trained genin is better than fresh-from-the-academy genin any day.” That partially assuaged his genin’s doubts about his plan. But if Naruto didn't wake up soon, he wasn't sure how good their chances are. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Sakura helped her limping sensei down the stairs. Sasuke trailed behind them, making little noise on the creaking floorboards. It was just about lunch, and Kakashi-sensei proclaimed that he had to speak with the client. 

In the past couple of days, she learned how  _ different  _ Wave was to Konoha. It went all the way from the people’s frightful glances, to the stifling poverty they live under. Sasuke and herself had been alternating between staying with their client, and watching over their injured team and Tazuna-san’s family. Kakashi-sensei happened to wake up at a perfect time; Tazuna-san was home to have a late breakfast with his family, so Sasuke was here too. 

But their blond teammate still hasn't achieved consciousness; she had naively hoped that Kakashi-sensei would reassure her about his recovery, but it seemed that he didn’t know either. 

They all shared the same room, but Naruto was put in the opposite corner to where they slept. He was still saturated in the red  _ volatile something  _ when they arrived, and they didn't want their unconscious sensei coming to contact. Nor themselves. Chakra exhaustion doesn't only make you physically weak, but also increases your chances of getting ill. She and Tsunami-san, Tazuna-san’s daughter, tried to clean and wrap Kakashi-sensei’s wounds, but only succeeded in making a bit of a mess. At least they won't be infected. But Naruto, sometime during the first night, had stopped resonating that strange chakra and remained still ever since. His breathing was shallow but consistent, and she didn't know if it was a sign of waking up or remaining comatose. She hoped for the later. 

Tsunami-san was setting the table when they made it down the stairs. When she noticed them, Tsunami-san looked up from from her task. “Oh! You're awake!”

Her sulky son looked up disinterestedly, before sighing and resting his chin against the edge of the table. His mother ignored him and gestured at the table, “Do sit, I insist.”

Sakura helped her sensei down to a seat and then seated herself across from him. Sasuke-kun sat at her side. Only a week ago she would have blushed and got all excited over this “date.” But her and Sasuke came to a tentative  _ understanding _ ; this mission was not the time for such silly games. Being the only two conscious on a team would teach you that.

“Tazuna-san, there is something you should know.” Kakashi-sensei waited a few baited moments before continuing, “The hunter-nin was fake. Zabuza is alive.”

There were loud gasps from around the table. Tazuna-san spent the past few days boasting about the  _ super _ shinobi he hired, and storytelling about the  _ super cool _ fight they were in. So the small family had heard detailed descriptions of the nukenin and were clearly aware of what this implied.

“Are-are you sure you aren't reading too deeply into this? Wasn't the hunter-nin just doing his job?” Tazuna-san stuttered nervously. 

“If he was doing his job, he would have beheaded the missing-nin on contact. There is always the off chance that I'm wrong… but I'm not usually wrong.”

The table’s occupants stirred in silence, while Tsunami-san escaped hurriedly to the kitchen, making an excuse about food burning. After a few moments, Inari stood up, slamming his cutlery on the table.

“That's it! Some  _ heros  _ you are!” He glared at them, eyes watering, “Gato can't be beat! You're all going to die!”

All going to die? To die!? They made it alive once. The  _ know _ their enemy. If anything, they'll be more likely to succeed! She refused to consider any other option. She will not die at  _ this  _ point in her career. She will get that date with Sasuke-kun!  _ Shannaro _ ! 

“You brat! How-”

She was cut off by Kakashi-sensei. “ _ Sakura _ ,” he gave her a pointed look.

She sank back to her chair, face flaming hot. She hasn't even realized that she got up. Okay, she  _ may _ have lost her temper. But in front of Sasuke-kun? How embarrassing. 

She could hear him give a scoff, but otherwise not respond in any way. 

The food arrived in silence. Later, Sakura would realize this would have been a perfect opportunity to get a glimpse of Kakashi-sensei’s face, but the current disheartening atmosphere didn't encourage such trivialities.

The quaint dish was bland, lacking the bare necessities to elevate it from edible to appetizing. But the equally dull dinner the previous night has made her ravenous, and her gladness of Kakashi-sensei’s return from dreamland had her digging in with an edge of enthusiasm. At least it was better than those rations they had on the way.

After knocking back a glass to wash down the grub, she was finished. And so were her teammates. 

Kakashi-sensei got up and gestured to them to follow. Tsunami-san handed him a pair of crutches, and he quickly thanked her before heading outside. 

He seemed to look around before trekking deep into the nearby forest. The thin shrubs were nothing like the lush forests of Konohagakure. Finally, he stopped in a clearing he seemed to deem satisfactory. 

“Alright. Do either of you know how to tree walk?”

Tree walk? She was never heard of such a thing. But something prickled the back of her head. She had recently checked out a few books about chakra theory; her morning training revealed how much she had yet to learn. She had found it very enlightening and it had certainly filled in gaps of information from the academy. Understanding the reasoning behind how and why this innate energy reacted the way it did to certain stimuli, such as hand signs, furthered her ability to apply and even tweak her minimal techniques into something useful. It was how she henged a windmill shuriken into a simple kunai, after all. So she remembered reading about the adhesivity of chakra when circulated properly against horizontal surfaces and even water! She experimented against the wall of her bedroom with her hand, and had planned to show her teammates the day later. But her plans were derailed by her own spontaneous outburst for a  _ better _ mission. 

“No,” Sasuke interrupted her thoughts, his arms crossed. 

But Sakura had to know if her hunch was right: “Does it have anything to do with circulating your chakra to walk up the tree?” 

He looked at her approvingly.

“I read it in a book,” she added, looking down embarrassed. He gave a nod, while Sasuke-kun gave her a strange look, as if he didn't know how to react. 

“Let me demonstrate.” Without hesitation he limped to a tree, but then continued up the side in a strange distortion of gravity. When he encountered  steady branch, he persisted to walk on it’s underside. 

Suddenly he dropped down. Sakura was so taken aback that she nearly failed to notice the kunai he threw at them. She threw herself back and landed on her butt — unlike Sasuke-kun, who was much more graceful and jumped back, landing on his  _ feet _ . But when she looked back, she noticed the kunai were never aimed at them. Instead, they were situated a foot in front of where their legs just were. 

She hastily got up when Kakashi-sensei called, “Use those to mark your progress!”

Before Kakashi-sensei could leave, Sasuke asked, “If we’re both here, then who will watch both Naruto and the client?”

Kakashi looked as Sasuke with his usual eye smile. “Looking beneath the underneath. Good,” he praised. “Watch,” he commanded, flipping through five hand seals, nicking his thumb against a protruding piece of metal on his uniform, and slammed his hand against the ground. “ _ Summoning jutsu! _ ” 

When a little pug poofed into existence, Kakashi-sensei seemed to stagger back, face contorting in a faint grimace before setting back to his usual bored expression. 

“I'll watch over Naruto and the household, Pakkun here will go with Tazuna-san,” he explained. 

She had her doubts about the abilities of that small pug. Surely such a small animal would have difficulty protecting against mercenaries and ninja. 

“I can see that look on your face, girly!” The dog,  _ the dog _ , talked. “Yes I can talk! And I am a ninkin, a  _ ninja dog _ , not just any other sort of dog. I can easily take down a few hired arms!” He looked up at her determinedly, mouth locking in a snarl that revealed rows of sharp teeth. 

“So  _ cute _ !”   
  
  


* * *

  
  


His teammate  _ must _ have known how to do this beforehand. She was walking up the tree as if it was flat ground, with the only indication of her horizontal state being her long hair and dress, which were affected by gravity. She got it the first time, with a quite exclamation of “this is so easy” and an exuberance to master the technique through repetition. It was  _ frustrating _ .

He just couldn't make it up. He tried both a running start and simply walking up like Kakashi and Sakura, but he just  _ couldn't _ . His first few steps were wobbly and by the fifth he was usually flung right off the tree. Sakura had mentioned circling chakra through the feet, and that was what he was  _ doing _ , but clearly it wasn't enough. He knew how to project his chakra to increase jumping height and speed, but this concept was far more delicate than blasting the soles of his feet with chakra. Not only did his chakra respond sluggishly to these precise commands, but there was clearly more to it; something he couldn’t figure it out on his own.  

It was then Sakura’s euphoric haze lifted, and she noticed his  _ plight _ . He hoped that she would offer to assist him with, so he wouldn’t have to ask her himself. He had  _ some  _ pride, dammit! But when she made eye contact, she quickly looked away with a flinch. 

He let out a short sigh, determined to calm down. He wouldn’t accomplish anything without her help, but to get it he had to  _ ask _ . But he remembered how he had to rely on her in combat, how he likely wouldn’t be  _ alive _ without her, and set aside his pride. It won’t get him get him anywhere other than failure, anyway.

“Sakura,” his tone came out harsher than he meant. She looked down at him, startled, from her position on the tree. He tried again, this time in a calmer tone, “Sakura, could you please, err, help me?”

He winced. That sounded too uncertain, too much like a question. But he hasn’t had to ask for help, (hasn’t had  _ anyone _ to ask,) since before  _ that night _ . Any assistance was always freely given to him, and the act of  _ asking _ was far more humbling than he expected. 

“Sure, Sasuke-kun!” Her voice was chipper, as if she just won some great prize. She climbed down beside him.

“Now, what have you been doing up until now?” Her voice held a lecturing tone; he couldn’t help but mentally debate whether it came from her mother or Iruka. He shook the irrelevant thought away. 

“I’ve tried circling chakra through the bottom of my feet, just like you mentioned. But I keep on being repelled from the tree instead,” he informed her, resisting the temptation to fidget.

Instead of laughing at his face (like most would, he was an Uchiha after all; he had a reputation to uphold), she had a look of contemplation. “I read about this before, or rather, the theory behind it. I actually tried it with my hand against the wall. The circling of the chakra depends on the surface. It needs to keep up with the motion of the object it’s adhering to, but in the opposite motion. Therefore, because you’re being pulled down, your chakra has to counter it, by moving up, so you stay in the same position,” Sakura said in a single breath. She seemed to need a moment to regain her breath. 

Sasuke began to understand. As he walked up the tree, his chakra had to cycle in that direction, at the same speed to counter gravity, to keep him in place. But how would he know the amount necessary to do so? It likely depended on his weight and the amount of force pulling him to the surface, so it was different than what it was for Sakura. He was sure there was a way to calculate the exact amount of chakra in the exact speed needed for this endeavor, but the academy didn’t exactly include much physics in it’s curriculum, especially not any that took chakra into consideration. 

After a moment of heavy breathing, Sakura continued, “I think the reason you keep being propelled away from the tree is because you were using too much chakra, therefore circulating too fast and unevenly. To figure out the perfect amount, you should try it with your hands first. Once that’s down, the actual circulations done naturally by your chakra system; the directional aspect is mostly subconscious. Of course, there is a way of minimizing the chakra necessary by actually speeding up the movement of the chakra, but unlike me, you have plenty of chakra. That’s what I’m trying to figure out how to do.” 

It was strange how he never thought, never  _ thinks _ of the simplest solution. Why should he actually have to actually calculate the exact amount of chakra, if he could use his hand in harmless trial and error? The act of fruitlessly running up a tree now looked stupid in hindsight. So with a distracted “thank you,” Sasuke made his way to the tree to actually make some progress.   
  


 

* * *

 

Kakashi limped back to their room. The simple summoning jutsu had taken its toll, but thankfully Pakkun was a ninkin and not a summon. The only chakra spent was the amount to actually get him here. An actual summon would need constant chakra from the moment of its summoning, unless they had a particularly good relationship with the summoner.

The reason he introduced tree walking right now, while Naruto was unconscious, was because Naruto clearly already knew how the technique. He was used precise chakra control to propel himself out of packed dirt, after all. Such a feat took far more skill than simply adhering one’s self to a solid surface. Sakura also had a leg up on the technique due to her superior chakra control and her readings on the subject. It was likely she already attempted this type of chakra manipulation, if in a different form. Sasuke was the only clueless one, so this exercise should teach him to rely on his female teammate. And also lose some of that arrogance that gets so many shinobi killed. It was a lesson that even he himself had to learn, and this was a relatively harmless way of teaching it. Besides, he had  _ plans _ with what to do with Naruto once he gets up. 

He sat next to the unconscious blond and observed his state. His body was mostly unmoving except for the slight rise and fall of a breathing chest. But his face was devoid of any color, except for the dark rings around his eyes and thin marks that appeared to be  _ seared _ into his cheeks. It appears that his student was hiding more than he initially anticipated.   
The only thing he could do was position his orange book in front of his face and wait for any signs of life.


	12. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi finally makes his ultimatum; in proper ninja fashion, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now with amazing fan art my friend anannymouse! Go check 'em out!!

_One of Root’s numerous enemies had done_ this _. They had waited for the village’s strongest resources to leave, Sakura and himself, and left no remorse. Danzo’s head was stuck on a pike in the center of camp, and no root member was to be found, other than the occasional dismembered limb. Not one was spared. Not even Sai._

_But that was not the whole of the casualties. Many of Konoha’s remaining loyal shinobi attempted to defend some of the root shinobi, and were killed for it. Including Ino._

_Naruto sat with Sakura while she screamed for her “stupid Ino-pig”. This was all his fault. If he hadn’t convinced Sakura that it was a good idea to leave, none of this would have happened. But when he suggested such a thing to her, she slapped him so hard across the face that he was knocked through several trees._

_“How dare you!?” Rage contorted her damp face, “I am just as much to blame as you are! Hell, if Danzo wasn’t such a two-faced snake, none of this would have even happened!”_

_The topic was left alone since._

_Shikamaru, stone faced and wary eyed, took charge. He came up with a plan to find a more strategic place to centralize their forces. A crater in the center of the woods was highly disadvantageous, and the enemy clearly knew where they were situated. So the survivors picked up all transportable items and moved to find a new location._

 

* * *

 

Naruto began showing signs of awaking by late the next evening. Sakura and Sasuke were still out training and he had to go retrieve them soon; letting his genin give themselves chakra exhaustion too was not a good idea. But Naruto began breathing deeper and his limbs began to shift, so Kakashi let himself linger just that much longer.

And then Naruto gasped and opened his eyes.

So while Kakashi knew his student was hiding something, this blew the expectation out of proportion. He was initially willing to give him the benefit of the doubt — that those murky purple eyes with a thin vertical pupil were a recent development — but the startled and defensive and _fearful_ expression suggested otherwise.  

“Mah, Naruto. Can't give me an easy time, huh?” Faint aggravation colored his words.

He knew this was a sign that something was seriously wrong. Did something happen to the seal? But he trusted his former sensei too much to accept that possibility. And because of that, this couldn’t be an imposter either. An imposter couldn’t quite radiate a bijuu’s chakra, now could he? What _god_ did he insult so that the one time he accepts a genin team _this_ is what he is faced with?

Naruto’s already pale complexion lightened further, his breathing hastening to quick huffs, indicative of panic. He did _not_ need to deal with calming someone from a panic attack.

“Naruto, calm down!” he snapped.

An occurrence like this would have to be reported to the Hokage. And no matter how treasonous the thought was, he disliked, _no,_ severely disapproved the manor of which the Sandaime has handled the blond’s situation. Not only did he inform the entire village of the boy’s status, but then left him alone as an orphan. Namikaze Minato’s legacy deserved better. And he had a _hunch_ that if he reported this, his genin’s (to whom he owed for keeping a _demon_ at bay) situation would only worsen. He would _not_ sell out a member of his team. (No matter how convenient.)

But he does want to know the _exact_ circumstances of this situation, no details spared. However, Naruto held onto such secrets for this long, and would unlikely give them away this easily. Either way, it will likely do more harm than good to force information out of his secretive genin at the moment. Kakashi needed his team to trust him, after all. (Despite what other unsavory sources would lead one to believe, teams, especially ones as tenacious as genin teams, were built on trust.)

“Sorry,” the blond apologized. He looked rather meek, in this position. His gaze was wandering everywhere other than Kakashi’s face and his voice was heavily laced with guilt and a weary fatigue. Duly noted.

“You're causing me so much trouble, you know that?” He blatantly informed Naruto. He wanted to make Naruto unsure of himself; becoming an open book for him to read and understand.

The genin gave a sigh, anxiety coloring his features.

“So when did all this happen?” He flippantly gestured to his face, to ensure Naruto knew _exactly_ what he was asking. No need for any pointless miscommunication.

Naruto had a calculating look (Kakashi wasn’t sure if he should be proud of this, of be mildly concerned) before he began his explanation, “The day I was informed of my _status_ , I may have… err- contacted the Kyuubi? I mean, not entirely on purpose, but later that night, well, I didn't really believe it all… so I just…” Desperation leaked into the blond’s words, giving his words a frantic edge, “So, getting direct contact did all this. And you _know_ how much the villagers hate me! So I _had_ to hide it!”

Kakashi could easily see through the ill-constructed lies. The shifty behavior and increased pulse that were associated with lying were easily spotted by a high caliber jounin such as himself. Usually Naruto was better liar than this; this direct confrontation was far more unsettling to the blond than his usual subtle information gathering. But the desperation, unfaked and raw, conveyed another layer to this situation, one that Naruto was clearly frightened of. For now, Kakashi wouldn’t push. Naruto looked like he could do with some natural sleep, and Kakashi wouldn’t jeopardize the mission by interrogating the weakened genin. No, he had more subtle methods of extracting information. This may cause him undue stress, but Kakashi will simply let Naruto to assume that he will inform the Hokage about the entire situation, if not adequately convinced not to. With the earlier anxiety, it was obvious that the Uzumaki didn’t want this reaching the Sandaime’s ears. Of course, he was obligated to report the jinchuriki’s injury and subsequent use of _that_ chakra, but that would have been on the other genin’s reports anyway. Hiding this information would be easy; Naruto would simply reapply his henge, and all would be seemingly forgotten. Naruto will try to stop Kakashi from revealing this incriminating knowledge about him, which will force him to divulge more candid information.

Blackmail at its purest form.

“Alright, alright. I'll take that into consideration. You should go rest some more; that poison took its toll,” Kakashi responded, carefully assessing Naruto’s reaction. His eyes were narrowed, and his shoulders hunched defensively. Good, Naruto fully understood Kakashi’s ultimium.

Kakashi turned and made his way to the doorway before remembering: “You should start thinking about how to explain this to your teammates.”

Sakura and Sasuke likely got more than a simple glance at the visible malignant chakra. It thankfully didn’t give them chakra poisoning, but they got more than an eye full. They had to transport Naruto here during his unconsciousness, after all. As Naruto was the only one who wasn’t bound the the S-ranked law of silence, he would have be the one to explain the situation. Likewise, Naruto could always choose to keep silent, or make up an excuse, but that will only sedate his student’s curiosities for so long.

He left the house and returned to his genin's clearing. Hopefully they made progress and were able to assist each other to success.

But while he expected progress, he didn’t expect to see Sakura lazing on the underside of a tree branch while watching as Sasuke made his way up the tree, occasionally steadying himself with a hand to the bark. It seemed his students were faster learners than he expected. With Sakura’s naturally advanced chakra control, it was obvious that this technique would come easily to her. But it takes a great deal of initiative ( _ambition_ ) and honed control to position yourself — and remain in place — upside down. Most shinobi focus too much on the actual application of chakra, usually in fear of dropping and the even greater pull that comes with the lack of resistance, that they fail to notice the blood rushing to their heads before they faint. But Sakura circumvented that obstacle by laying down. But laying down entailed circling chakra through the back and legs, which was far more difficult than doing the same on the soles of the feet and palms of the hand. The hands and feet had easily accessible tenketsu that were far more exercised than most others; in contrast, the back had many tenketsu that weren’t often used by shinobi — except by certain clan techniques. It was interesting that Sakura was able to utilize those unused tenketsu as easily as she was demonstrating. Sasuke’s successful ascent up the tree was also a pleasant surprise. When he sent them off, he had doubts that Sasuke would let himself gain assistance from his teammate, but was luckily proven mistaken. It was likely Sakura’s idea to use the hand to supplement the feet on the occasional near slip-up. He was sure that Sasuke would have figured out how to do this technique on his own, given a few days, but that wasn’t time they had. At the worst scenario, he would have taught Sasuke how to complete this crucial technique himself, but Kakashi had to lay off chakra use as much as possible for the speediest recovery.

“You got the technique down much faster than I expected,” Kakashi commented, gaining the genin’s attention.

Sasuke flipped off his tree, landing crouched. A smirk twisted his lips for a moment, before flattening out again. Sakura just picked herself up, and walked as if she had just gotten off the couch. Tree walking seemed to become second nature to her. It was obvious what he would teach her next.

Sasuke would do well with another day of practice, but Kakashi could have Sakura guarding Tazuna-san now. Although with Naruto awake, his options were broadened.

“Naruto woke up,” he told them, voice casual as they followed him back to the house. Sakura gave a relieved sigh, and Sasuke’s step halted before continuing as if uninterrupted.

His genin were funny. They pretended to not care about the blond’s condition, but their unconscious responses gave them away. The inflection of their voice conveyed their worry, the widened eyes and gasps showed surprise, the narrowing of the eyes and mouth belayed hostility.

These freely expressed emotions were the biggest teller to any seasoned shinobi that they were easy picking: inexperienced and prone to manipulation. It didn’t matter how innately powerful the shinobi was, allowing emotion to cloud judgement will get them killed. This sign was prominent in genin and occasional in chunin — never in jounin. But Naruto never exhibited these unconscious signals; rather, Naruto only shows his emotions _on purpose_ (whether to blend in with his teammates or convince him to let him off the hook). He was far more experienced than a genin had any right to be.

This is how Kakashi knows that Naruto alone will be the signifier of the mission’s success or failure.

* * *

 

  
Kakashi was playing mind games with him. He hated those.

But Kakashi was slowly trapping him, baiting him to reveal information. Naruto was well aware of the process: put stress on the victim, a time limit, make an ultimatum, let the victim have time to overthink the situation, then proceed to keep the victim constantly busy, and when the time limit is over, catch the victim while they are exhausted. It was a relatively painless interrogation method, usually used on a shinobi of the same village, but brutally effective. Because Naruto doesn’t know if Kakashi will tell the Hokage if he doesn’t explain his situation, or will either way. He needs a convincing argument, and by providing one he is giving away priceless information. That information could stay with Kakashi or go straight to the Hokage. If he doesn’t comply, the Hokage will be informed and he will be sent to T&I anyway. Naruto was stuck, and his lies will be easily seen through by the seasoned jounin. He had to proceed carefully; giving enough away that he will be safe, but not enough that Kakashi will have cause to report this to the Sandaime.

Not quite as pressing but still important was how he was going to explain this to his teammates. Kakashi did not have the authority to reveal his status to his teammates, but Naruto does. Making up a bloodline to explain away all his abilities could spectacularly backfire. Telling them the truth is better in the long run; no surprises when it inevitably comes up. But he worried about what this would do to this tentative relationship that he has with his teammates. If they ask, he will tell them the truth.

He changed his position, laying on his side facing the wall. Despite just waking up, he was exhausted. He stared at the grains of wood, counting the age lines of the wood. He wasn’t sure how long he had been unconscious for, but he remembered that in his previous life, Kakashi was out for two days. Seeing that his sensei was awake, it was likely that he was unaware for more than those two days. He should probably eat and drink something before he went back to sleep; he just didn’t want to encounter his teammates yet. With the return of some of his superior healing factor, he should be able to manage.

Before long, a heavy sleep washed over him.

 

* * *

 

Sakura was practically _skipping_ her way back to Tazuna-san’s house. After working on it all day, she finally understood how to manipulate chakra in more unorthodox places and use them to stay adhered to the tree. She had a feeling it would become useful someday and she was excited to explore the possibilities.

Also, Sasuke-kun asked her, _her_ , for help! That means he _respects_ her, and that was something she never received from him before. Respect. Sure, the occasional moment when he looks impressed at something she says or does is also gratifying, but for him to actually ask her — well, she had never heard him ask for anything; not directly. She could tell that he was embarrassed to ask for help, but she would _never_ begrudge him for that. Although embarrassment looked so _cute_ on him!

But what really set her on high-nine was that Naruto was awake. It was a more sober happiness, a sense of relief coupled with curiosity. He is alive! He gained consciousness. But what was that red chakra? Naruto was henging his whisker marks and the dark circles around his eyes, what was he hiding? Her head was spinning with questions that she couldn't wait to barrage him with.

They had ate some rations for lunch and dinner during their training, so they went straight to their room.

Naruto's position had changed and his breathing deepened. But he was clearly asleep and Sakura couldn't contain the disappointed droop of her shoulders. She wanted _some_ answers tonight.

But at the sight of their futons Sakura felt her own exhaustion hit her. She had expanded lots och chakra, far more than she ever had at once. It was only her strict regulation on chakra use and frequent breaks that she hasn't fainted on her feat. She briefly entertained the thought that she would have fainted, that Sasuke-kun would have caught her; however, she unfortunately knew that Sasuke would more likely laugh at her still form than catch her, especially if he thought she was doing it on purpose.

  
So she quickly changed in the small nearby bathroom, and plunked herself down on the futon to sleep. Sasuke-kun was already in his and Kakashi-sensei was sitting and reading, so with a whispered “goodnight” she closed her eyes and imagined what she could do if she had access to a library. And shoving her new-found abilities in Ino-pig’s face, of course.


	13. Progression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke continues training while Naruto and Sakura guard the bridge.

_ It was on the outskirts of fire county were Shikamaru set the new base of operations.  _

_ Without Root, the only true survivors of Konoha were a few loyal shinobi. The lack of civilians led to an economical stagnation. Shinobi and civilians had a carefully crafted balance, with each providing an invaluable service to the other. With that delicate balance broken, the Konoha shinobi were slowly succumbing to food shortages. But nature provided, and with the dismal number of survivors, the nearby resources will more likely replenish then be used up by the one they had to move again.  _

_ But then one day an envoy from Suna arrived at the quaint camp. The Kazekage invited them to take refuge at his village. _

 

 

* * *

 

Breakfast was a tense affair.  

It was the first their first unofficial meeting with all teammates in attendance. He, Naruto, and Sakura were picking at the meager portion of rice while Kakashi observed them with an unreadable expression over the top of his book. Sakura was nearly vibrating with barely withheld questions, with only Naruto’s sullen mood and Kakashi’s silencing look stopping the inevitable interrogation. 

But Sasuke had some questions of his own. Which is why he quickly finished his bland portion, despite being unaccustomed to such _sustenance_. A side affect of becoming the sole inheritor of an old and wealthy clan was having plenty of pocket change. But for having one of the largest net values in all of the Land of Fire, he didn't spend much on anything other than necessities. Except for food.  

His mother  _ (blood blossoms around a katana shoved through her chest)  _ had instilled a  _ necessity _ in him to always eat the best — daily homemade food packed tucked into a neat box accompanied him to the academy. With his father attending his clan head duties and  _ that man _ otherwise occupied, both he and his mother found themselves left behind at home. The pinched look in her eyes always seemed to fade when he helped her with the housework. She said cooking reminded her of her life as a kunoichi, making him all the more enthusiastic to assist her. As embarrassing as it was to admit, a large portion of his proficiency with a kunai came from her guidance in precise slicing. 

After their deaths no one was left to provide for him; the responsibility fell onto himself. So with a heavy heart, he assumed the household duties that she had taught him. He had long-since moved to a small house, uninhabited long before the massacre, on the outskirts of Uchiha land. But his mother’s recipes lingered in his memories, untouched by time. The same couldn't be said for her tender but occasional touches and soft, tranquil voice. It was all he had left of her, and he honored it.

His reminiscing was interrupted by Kakashi’s call for attention: “Sasuke, you’ll continue with tree walking.” He was given a pointed glance and Sasuke responded with his usual dismissive syllable. 

He had made progress with the technique the day before, but while he could just barely make it to the top, Sakura had already mastered it. This was the first time his teammate blatantly surpassed him, but instead of that bubbling envy and  _ hate _ , all he could feel was faint resignation and a great deal of determination. He  _ will  _ get to the top without a single stumble, no matter if it takes him the rest of the day and night. 

Their sensei continued, dryly, “Naruto, I'm assuming that you already know how to,” Naruto shot him a dark glare, but blithely returned to his sulky position. It seemed that he and Kakashi got into a disagreement of some sort, the context of which easy to assume. But this development, that  _ Naruto _ knew how to do this too, stung but was expected. 

“So you and Sakura go with Tazuna-san to the bridge; I'll send Pakun with you. If worst comes to worst, send him here to inform me of the situation.”  _ Let me know if you come into any trouble.  _

Sakura will undoubtedly  _ hound _ Naruto with questions as told by her predatory and, frankly, frightening visage. Hopefully she’ll be willing to share once she has stated her curiosity. 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


Sakura thought she was being really patient. Naruto was going to answer her questions  _ no matter what,  _ but she hasn’t jumped on him  _ yet _ . Yesterday’s evening had been spent thinking about all the information she could remember about her fellow teammate, all the conjectures she could draw. Despite the hazy clarity of her thoughts, due to the previous long day of training and subsequent draining of her short chakra reserves, she pieced together some  _ disturbing _ conclusions. Her village might not be so pure after all (a deluded though, she’ll admit, as Konohagakure is a  _ shinobi  _ village — and those are built on secrets and blood),  and her teammate is a cultivation of it. She, well, the mistreatment was obvious, but she always thought it was due to his pranks. (Even when she was a small child with a large forehead being teased on the playground and that blond boy with the brilliant smile defended her. Her parents told her to stay away, so when she untactfully told him as such the next day, he unhesitatingly pranked her in front of _ everyone _ .)

But perhaps the prank were in response to the disdain. Even now, over a month without any signs of pranks, those harsh glares and whispers did not abate. But at the bridge, neither her nor Naruto had been spared any attention other than a singular inquiring glance from the workers, and it made for a startling contrast. She had become  _ used _ to those heavy stares following her teammate, and to her immense shame, had completely ignored them. She remembered how it was like to be picked on (before Ino-pig), and to be subjected to that  _ every day _ , since early childhood, well, she is surprised he hasn’t snapped at all of them.

When she learned of the bridge’s unfinished state, she assumed that only the basic framework was in place, some meager pieces of wood nailed together over a fifty foot wide river. The reality was far different. This was the largest bridge she had ever seen, and for being relatively well-traveled (her civilian parents’ business ventures taking them to many out-of-village destinations), the observation had weight. It wasn’t finished, obviously, but thick pillars of concrete were in place, holding up a wide wood-and-concrete platform connected to their side of the sea. It was the other end of the bridge that was in progress.

So she waited until they settled at the entryway of the bridge, all the workers’ attention directed at the opposite end, to begin her ascertaining of the blond mystery. 

Naruto was staring off into the fog, his expression closed off with a downwards twist to his lips. Ever since she cheerfully greeted him that past morning, he had been obviously troubled by something. Kakashi-sensei exhibited the same tension, so Sakura could only assume that something happened between them the previous night. 

But Sakura ignored all this and forged forward: “So, do you mind explaining what exactly that red stuff was?” Her wording was delivered crassly and she hoped it was well received

Naruto's eyes turned downcast for a moment before making eye contact with her and replying with a bitter smile: “I’ll tell both you and Sasuke after the mission — it’ll distract you from the mission, ya know?”

At her incredulous expression, he gave her a sheepish look and rubbed the back of his head. “Well, look at it this way; it's an S-class village secret. I’m the only one allowed to tell people with the Hokage’s express permission.” 

His tone was lighthearted, slightly apologetic in nature. But being on the same team as him for over a month made her privy to the fact that he only showed such casual emotions when he was covering up  _ something _ . Whenever someone directly inquired about his health or his much more developed abilities (or that incident a week after their team assignment), he would always give a half hearted excuse accompanied by an out of character attitude. It would have fooled a stranger, but after her frequent attempts at gleaning information, the pattern became obvious. 

With a petulant glare, she let it go. But this time, he made a promise. A promise she intended to hold him to. 

The tedious task of guard duty was only survivable by the entertainment of her thoughts; which kept wandering to yesterday's training. Despite perfecting tree walking to the best of her ability, she felt like there was a second level, an alternate use, to the technique. She knew that it was ill-advised to persist practicing (she could still feel the strain on her chakra; albeit not as bad as the day before), but she had to continue think forward. She had found her niche, the one thing  _ she had _ superior to all, but to get to her teammates level — for she had no illusions about who was the weakest —  she has to figure out where she was going with all this. Sure, having in depth knowledge about chakra manipulation and therefore knowing how to use what limited techniques and chakra she already has its fullest extent will keep her alive; however, she wanted more than that. At this rate, she will be quickly sidelined by her superior teammates. Which is not  _ fair _ because she finally has a to be with Sasuke-kun, yet what’s the point if she can only look at his back!? But she knew she would never be an offensive powerhouse, not in the way Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun and even Naruto are. 

Chakra control was not enough. And it will never be enough because chakra control equates to supporting roles such as medical-nin, or, if she’s lucky, a talent in genjutsu. Not too long ago, this would have satisfied her. But now she has been in actual combat, seen what it did to her and her teammates. If she had been any stronger, more capable, two of her teammates may not have ended comatose and the third one being scared _nearly_ to death! Likewise, if she had been any weaker, spending her morning ogling at Sasuke-kun and reading romance novels instead of dusty text books, they could have ended dead instead of simply injured. She had no offensive abilities, and if not for Sasuke-kun’s quickly devised plan, she wouldn't have contributed _anything_.

She will never be able to spit out ninjutsu like it was nothing, but there are more subtle offensive techniques. Taijutsu could potentially become an option, if she was willing to put in enough time and effort to augment her body, and kinjutsu could be a viable option as well. But that would all take time, and she needed something more immediate.

She punched the railing in agitation, releasing her annoyance in one blow.  _ Shannaro! _

Naruto turned and looked at her oddly, before commenting, “What did the railing ever do to you?” This was accompanied a quick, short exhale that could have doubled as laughter and shifted his gaze back to the workers.

She couldn’t help herself when she made a mocking face at the back of his head. Who was he to make fun of her? It was then she noticed the indent on the metal bar. She couldn’t have done that, could she? Clearly the metal was hollow, but still. But her knuckle was ringing in pain, and the indent in the railing had suspicious looking ridges.  

“Ow,” she muttered under her breath, shaking her hand out. That would certainly bruise. 

But it gave her bit of inspiration. Obviously, she wasn’t naturally that strong; she had passed the strength requirement in the academy, but only barely. A month of softcore training does not take effect like that. But whatever it was, if she could weaponize it… well, it seemed her problem has been solved. 

Now, how did she actually do it and how can she avoid personal injury?

  
  


* * *

  
  


Tazuna returned for dinner with Sakura and Naruto in tow.

It was clear to Naruto that Sakura had an epiphany on the bridge after hitting that railing. She likely realized that her strength increased if she channeled her chakra. That was an interesting development; his pink haired teammate will become powerful much sooner and he’s all the more grateful for it. She will be able to defend herself. The Sakura of the old was always distressed at being left behind, never being as strong as them. But this one was far more ambitious, from what he’s seen, and takes her training seriously. If they get signed up for the chunin exam — and if Naruto would even accept — she would be able to hold her own, perhaps even make it to the finals. Especially if she figures out chakra augmentation this early in her career.

He was thankful that Sakura had dropped her line of questioning. Not only had he not come up with adequate responses ( _excuses_ ) yet, but telling her about the Kyuubi would possibly cause her to hate him, or just avoid him, and that would mess up their team dynamics, which are essential to completing this mission unharmed. If she and Sasuke turn around and decide to treat him like the rest of the villagers back in Konoha, well, no one would get hurt (except himself). Hell, it is likely that they’ll get some sympathizers and have him kicked off the team. He would do his best to protect them either way, they are his precious people: no matter how much they hate him. He just didn’t want it to come to that.

His long unconscious stunt has left him physically weak. Even with the return of some of his healing factor, it would take him a few days of rest and training to get back to a prime physical condition. During breakfast, he was barely able to muster up an appetite, despite not eating for two days. The Kurama’s chakra keeps him away from many of the negative effects of lack of substance during his unconscious stint, but he was left in an exhausted state. He hoped that by the time they’ll fight Haku and Zabuza that he’ll be able to make some shadow clones. How else would he save them?

It was unlikely that he would meet Haku this time around, but he will pay his former dept to him in full anyway. People with such pure ideals were rare, and Naruto has to begin to gather allies for the future. As the infamous quote goes:  _ in the ninja world, one can be an enemy today and an ally tomorrow. _

Once they were in the dinning room, it became obvious that Sasuke was missing. He was clearly not in the house, and telling by his chakra signature, it was likely that he was still training.

“Kakashi-sensei, where is Sasuke-kun?” Sakura asked, immediately noticing his absence. 

“He hasn’t returned yet.” Kakashi replies flippantly, while flipping the page of his book. “He’s probably still training.”

“Still!?” Sakura exclaimed, confusion _dripping_ into the word.

She still held Sasuke on such a high pedestal, that she doesn’t realize how rare and advanced her chakra control truly is. Sasuke, while strong for his age, doesn’t have nearly as much chakra control as she. 

“Not everyone has good chakra control, Sakura,” Kakashi sighs behind his book, “Some people have to work at it harder.” 

Naruto would have asked whether or not he should go get him, but he was a coward. He didn’t want to directly speak to Kakashi anymore than he had to, lest he gets backed into a corner. It was completely irrational; Kakashi won’t be able to glean anything off him showing concern for a teammate. He was sure that Sakura would ask Kakashi herself, anyway.

After a short awkward moment, Sakura asks, “So, should we go get Sasuke-kun, or…?”

Kakashi dismisses their concerns: “Sasuke is a big boy. He’ll be fine.”

Naruto couldn’t remember his team getting attacked before the fight with Zabuza and Haku, but he shouldn’t rely that it would be true this time. Sakura was equally as worried, if her agitated fidgeting throughout the meal signified anything. He didn’t want to leave anything to chance, but Kakashi is right; Sasuke could easily handle a few mercenaries.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Sasuke had taken some rations with him when he left. 

The clearing remained as they had left it the previous day: Sakura’s tree untouched and his full of scruff marks and kunai slashes. Both Naruto and Sakura were ahead of him; he couldn’t continue to drag behind. He dropped his canteen of water and bag of rations by the foot of the tree and set to work. 

By sunset, his tree was disfigured. He was teetering on the edge of exhaustion, but his eyes narrowed determinedly. His application wasn’t smooth yet, he still left indentations on the tree as he walked — he was still using too much chakra. 

It was the chirping of the crickets and the stinging mosquitoes that alerted him that it was far past dark. The air was heavy with moisture, and his hair adhered to his forehead with sticky perspiration. But a rare smile played on his lips. He had done it. He managed to tree walk with the exact amount of chakra necessary, and he couldn’t help the high he felt at his success. It was a relatively small achievement, but all the effort paid off.

  
It was when he leaned against the tree when he noticed the dark spots in his vision. It was all he could do to slide down the side of the tree to a sitting position before everything turned to a blissful black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking of rewriting some of the earlier chapters; that prologue in particular is not agreeing with me. Any suggestions?


	14. Compromise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke meets Haku.

_Suna was not spared in the slightest, but Konohagakure had, by far, shouldered the brunt of the damage. Wind country was a relatively small target; no living Akatsuki members are from the country, nor does Suna harbor any jinchuuriki anymore._

_Gara, stone faced and marred by stress lines, welcomed the fifty-odd shinobi at the gates. He gave a short speech about the strong ties between Konoha and Suna and about reaching out to powerful allies, pacifying the objecting Suna-nin as well as making it clear they will be welcomed in their village — only to strengthen the village, of course._

_Shikamaru accompanied the Kazekage to his office to compromise the exact terms of the negotiations._

_Due to the Kazekage’s close relations to a certain member of the former village, they were given refuge within the village walls, in exchange for their services as shinobi; Suna’s forces have been running low and Konoha’s survivors, the elite and the lucky, made a good replacement._

  


* * *

  


“You’ll catch a cold sleeping in a place like this.”

Sasuke jolted forward, tightly grasping the hand near his neck. “Who are you?”

His glare was met with a calm smile from the androgynous stranger. “My name is Haku. I was collecting medicinal herbs for an injured friend of mine, and I stumbled across you.”

The stranger’s expression remained placid despite his strong grip on his (her?) wrist. A civilian would have been panicking or at the very least showing some discomfort, but if the stranger wanted to kill him, they had had the perfect opportunity.

He let go and stood up, wearily eyeing the stranger. _Haku_ had long hair and wore a pink kimono covered by a white apron, but his physiology indicated he was male. (It was unfortunate, he would have made a very pretty girl.)

“Would you require any assistance, Haku-san?” Sasuke inquired politely. This stranger was obviously not a civilian; by helping him out, Sasuke could figure out if he was a potential threat. (He also knew what it was like to have injured friends, and this boy could potentially show him ways to help his teammates if they ever get to similar situations).

“Any help would be welcome,” the boy replied. He pointed out the plants that he needed, listing out their properties as he went.

A few minutes passed in silence, Sasuke unconsciously relaxing through the meticulous process of harvesting plants, when Haku spoke again: “So, you are a ninja?”

His inflection implied a question, but it was worded as a fact. Sasuke was instantly put on edge.

“How did you know?”

“That forehead protector of yours, only ninjas wear those,” Haku pointed out, his herb collecting unfaltered.

Sasuke calmed down, only then realized his racing pulse. He couldn't afford to get into conflict as the previous day’s training had put him unsettlingly close to chakra exhaustion. He would be quickly taken out without ever warning his teammates. But Haku’s observation meant nothing; anyone could know about a shinobi’s signature hitai-ate.

“Why exactly were you sleeping out in the middle of the forest?” Haku continued with his line of questioning, unheeding of Sasuke's tension.

“I was training,” Sasuke answered gruffly, the inquiries making him uneasy. It this was an enemy, how much could he reveal without putting himself at risk? What topics should he avoid? He was never in a situation like this before, and it was crucial that he didn't inadvertently reveal any sensitive information.

“Why?”

“To become powerful,” he answered without hesitation. Why else would someone train?

Haku’s gaze turned assessing, momentarily lapsing in his gathering, before brushing off the front of his apron and standing up. Sasuke moved to give Haku the herbs he collected, but was brushed away with a friendly smile.

“You can keep it. I have enough. Perhaps they could even help you in the future, shinobi-san?”

It sounded like a friendly suggestion with an underlying bad omen. Now that he knew all their properties, he could potentially use these herbs; if in fact this stranger wasn't tricking him. But that implied that his teammates would get injured; that there was a threat.

But before he could make any accusations, the boy asked, “Do you have any precious people?”

Precious people? He didn't have any of those, right?

“What are you implying?”

“You know, someone that you would fight to protect no matter what,” Haku clarified, his even smile now tinged with a hint of bitterness.

“Oh. I think I know what you mean now,” Sasuke admitted, embarrassed.

When the boy had spoken, his mind immediately turned to his teammates. Despite how annoying they could be, with Kakashi’s lateness and Sakura's crush and Naruto's secrets, he would protect them to the best of his ability. And they would do the same, in turn.

“Good. You can only become truly strong when you protect your precious people,”

Haku glanced up at the sky, frowning, “I have to go now. Thank you for the conversation, it was very enlightening, shinobi-san.”

With those cryptic words, Haku began walking away, plants neatly stacked in a woven basket.

“It’s Sasuke,”

“Sasuke-san,” Haku acknowledged with a nod. He looked back with a sad smile, and walked away.

 

 

* * *

  


Sakura was told to get Sasuke-kun; Kakashi had some plans for them today.

As she got closer to the clearing, she could here some voices. One was clearly Sasuke-kun, but the other was unfamiliar. But there was no hostility.

So Sakura, with a small pang of guilt and a great deal of curiosity, listened into the conversation, echoing through the forest. But to her annoyance, the communication had ended all too soon.

She was surprised. Precious people? What a strange topic. But Sasuke-kun actually engaging was even moreso. He would barely talk to his teammates, nevertheless a total stranger. And not only that, he reveled that he had someone, or someones, important to him. Despite being slightly obsessed with him, she was not completely unaware of his faults; he would never admit such a thing — not to anyone he knows. But maybe that was it. Maybe, because it was an unknown stranger, Sasuke-kun felt that he could confide: knowing that this would never reach his teammates. Maybe she was just reading far too much into this.

She caught a glimpse of flowing back hair and clear pale skin. Or maybe _that's_ why.

Her chest clawed with envy and her hands clenched into fists. She wanted to scream.

But she took a moment to rationalize. Despite facing the direction _she_ left, Sasuke-kun’s expression did not display any interest of _that sort_. Rather, he had a curious, almost wistful look that conveyed more of a reminiscing than any sort of attraction.

She calmed down before she did anything drastic.

She noticed that he had weeds, no, medicinal herbs in his hand. So the stranger showed him how to harvest plants with medicinal properties; she was almost jealous. But her mind turned to their actual properties, and she realized they were beyond useful. The flower arranging kunoichi class in the academy briefly touched upon useful plants and herbs; these, in particular, had a lot to do with senbon paralysis and minimizing damage upon removal — senbon are so precise that they could hit a millimeter away from a major artery or nerve. She could also spot one that accelerated blood clotting — useful when a senbon purposefully punctures a major artery, putting someone in momentary death, and the senbon user wants the victim to live- oh.

“Sasuke-kun, who was that?” She asked, urgency clear in her voice.

He quickly turned to face her, an almost startled expression on his face.

“Nobody,” he immediately answered. At her unimpressed look, he adds, “Fine. He's just some boy looking for some herbs to help a sick friend and happened to pass by here...” he sounded a bit uncertain.

“He seemed to have given a lot of them to you,” she observed, looking for some further answers. What he did was incredibly risky, engaging the enemy this way. What was even more frightening was that Sasuke-kun hasn't put two and two together and realized that he had been talking to the fake hunter-nin. However, _if_ it was the hunter-nin, what would he gain from giving Sasuke-kun medicinal herbs? None of them, to her knowledge, were poisonous, and would only benefit them in a future encounter.

“He told me what they all did, and then told me to keep these,” he affirmed. But his expression remained in that strange state, the former conversation clearly still greatly affecting him.

She didn't want to tell him. There was an off chance she could be wrong about this stranger, and she didn't want Sasuke-kun to feel betrayed. But that was a stupid risk to take, so she forged on anyway.

“Sasuke-kun, have you _considered_ that this stranger could, well- maybe, be the, you know, hunter-nin…?”

He dropped the herbs as if they were poisoned; they could very well be. He looked at her wide-eyed, betrayal written all over his face.

“What!?”

She tentatively explained, “Well, I can’t be completely sure all those herbs have a lot to do with senbon and-” she was cut off.

“I get it. I trusted the enemy. Now you’ve got to inform Kakashi, huh?” He growled, self depreciating.

She knew she should. Sasuke would get a verbal reprimand, a metaphorical slap on the wrist, and at worst, a few unpaid d-ranks. But she didn’t want to sell him out. Not only was he her love interest, but he was her _teammate_. Kakashi-sensei would understand. Hopefully.

But if he revealed sensitive information, well, all bets are off.

“Sasuke-kun, did you reveal anything?”

He looked to the side, brow scrunched in thought. “No. Not purposefully, anyway.”

She sighed in relief: “Good. Then I don’t see the necessity of telling Kakashi-sensei, do you?” She gave him a small, reassuring smirk.  

Sasuke-kun gave her an incredulous look — a tilt of the head and a confused look coupled with slightly raised eyebrows.

Time to tell him why she was truly here: “Well, anyway. Kakashi-sensei says we are ready to begin the next stage of our training.”

 

 

* * *

  


Naruto joined Sakura and Sasuke on the small patch of grass before the forest.

Kakashi had called them over, stating he had their next stage of training all planed out. Whatever it was, it clearly deviated from his original life.

When Kakashi stepped out of the house — late, as usual — Naruto could see a wicked gleam in his eye; he must be feeling more sadistic than normal. This did not bode well for him.

“Well, my adorable little genin,” Naruto could practically feel the indignant expressions of his teammates; his own face remained even, as usual. “Seeing the way _some_ of you reacted to killing intent,  I made it my utmost priority to help you get over your fears.”

Oh. So Kakashi didn’t want Sasuke of Sakura to freeze up during their next encounter with Zabuza. He wasn’t up to speed with the proceedings of the previous battle, seeing as he was comatose, but it was highly likely that Sakura or Sasuke, or both, were seriously debilitated by Zabuza’s infamous mist technique. Kakashi was going to have them build up a tolerance.

“So I volunteered Naruto here,” Kakashi gave him a meaningful look, “to help you get over it’s effects.”

Naruto couldn’t help the glower that escaped him. Kakashi was meaning to have him unleash killing intent on his teammates. Because what would Kakashi lose if his teammates began to fear him? Nothing: not only will Sakura and Sasuke’s trust in him won't abate, but when Kakashi turns him in, Sakura and Sasuke won’t put up a fuss for a boy who brings them nothing but fear.

So Kakashi had already made his decision, no matter what he did. He could feel his clenched fists turning moist in trepidation.

Kakashi gave him a mocking eye smile as he turned away, returning to the house. “Think of this as a teammate exercise,” he called out.

His teammates were left uneasily staring at him, a forbearing air prominent in the atmosphere.

  
He had to figure out how to escape before they returned to Konoha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just rewrote the prologue! go check it out!


	15. Enhancement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misunderstandings and training.

_ Shikamaru co-led a mission with him, commanding three squadrons of chunin; assorted, with a majority of Suna-nin and a smattering of Konoha-nin. _

_ Naruto was the major heavy-hitter, while Shikamaru took strategic lead. The were to raid an old strong-hold of Orochimaru’s, reportedly empty. But the Kazekage refused to take any risks, and with the likely traps they would face and the large area they needed to cover, the large numbers were necessary. Stealth wasn’t necessary, as they weren’t expected to encounter anyone.  _

_ And yet Naruto had an uneasy feeling about this.  _

  
  


* * *

  
  


Despite using this opportunity for petty revenge for all the trouble the blond was causing him, this was an important lesson that his genin had to learn. 

He could see their  _ terrified _ expressions and couldn’t help but taunt them a little. They had  _ wanted _ to be trained, after all.

Admittedly, he probably should be teaching this himself, but this course of action also doubled as a trust exercise among the genin. According to the proceedings at the gates, Naruto has to gain control over his killer intent; lack of control over a technique that his teammates were susceptible to was not acceptable. Also, to his immense annoyance, he was still recovering from chakra exhaustion and that  _ excursion _ two days back, a period of time in which chakra usage  _ should _ have been off limits, set his recovery back that much further. He had to be at top shape when fighting Zabuza — he barely beat him at full chakra capacity, so it was prudent that he was at least that strong and twice as ready. He would not underestimate his opponent again. 

By his estimation, they have at least another week to prepare; perhaps he could use some of that time to actually train, himself. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Naruto's expression was one of reluctance. 

Sasuke wanted to scream at him to just  _ get it over with _ . Just the memory of that suffocating murder-gruesome- _ I'mgoingtodie _ feeling made him shudder — in equal parts of aversion to  _ it _ and disgust in himself for the former.

He tried to calm himself — brace himself — for the training. He knew it was necessary; he had to overcome such obstacles. But his recent experience and subsequent  _ reaction _ was far too fresh in his mind: he wanted to forget  _ but this was rubbing salt in the wound and it's simply not fair _ ! 

His reaction garnered his teammates attention; he could  _ feel _ their concerned stares,  _ judging _ , as he glared holes in the ground while his nails dug crevasses in his palms. He had to calm his racing pulse, drumming in his ears. He was so  _ weak _ ! Over reacting like some dumb little damsel in distress. If this is how he reacts at the  _ thought  _ of killing intent, how will he achieve his ambition? How will he amount to anything, a ninja so scared of simple  _ chakra manipulation _ ?!

But this was Naruto; his teammate. And despite some of his  _ not so kind _ words to him throughout the academy, he wasn't the type to be vindictive. He wouldn't torture him — not like  _ that man _ . He remembered the situation at Konoha’s gates, remembered that in light of more recent events, it wasn't all that bad. That's what he wanted to believe. Besides, Naruto would go easy on them first, not mean spirited in his application. Yes, it couldn't be all that bad, he was a genin, not a jounin with endless experience. Just a genin; like him. (He decidedly ignored the fact that he had many skills that went far beyond the spectrum of what was considered “genin”). 

“So, I'll just release some killer intent on you,” Naruto reiterated nervously. But there was an underlying panic, a  _ feralness _ , to his movements. “So, do you two know what killer intent is? It's when a shinobi of relatively high chakra capacity creates an aura of chakra, influenced by their own emotions, to…”

Sasuke was grateful for Naruto's cynical breakdown of the technique; it helped him distance himself from his surging emotions.

Sakura, while giving him the occasional concerned glance, was obviously less tense than moments before. He should follow her example. 

“...so, I guess I'll start now,” Naruto concluded. 

All he had to do was get used to it until he could surface his thoughts over primal emotions. Some could even just snap out of its hold, stopping the interference of foreign chakra. It was rarely done however, not so much like breaking a genjutsu than to actually counteract the foreign chakra with the user’s own. It sounded easier in theory; actual chakra molding is difficult under the strain of a powerful killing intent. It was efficient against weaker attacks, but those could be easily circumvented with tolerance. Attaining that tolerance was his problem.

It began slowly, thin tendrils enhancing his already prominent fears, twisting them into a deep-sated anxiety. A chill crawled over his skin, a shiver passing through him as his skin raised in goosebumps. He could barely make out Sakura’s gasp over the thumping of his heart. 

But this, this he could deal with. He was familiar with the emotion, the haunting feeling frequenting as he walks down the streets of his clan compound and realizes that it was empty: the dust and blood seeped so deep into the wood’s ridges that no amount of scrubbing on his part could get it out. But he survives those cold mornings when he  _ forgets _ ; he won't give in this easily. 

And with that thought, it became a bit easier to breath.

His teammates weren't reacting all that well either. Sakura was biting her lip, her hands fisted so tight they were shaking. And Naruto looked conflicted. Besides the evident signs of concentration, he looked angry and upset. Perhaps it was the thoughts necessary to invoke the killer intent, but Sasuke thought there was more to it. There must be; he wasn't his usual collected self when they congregated — no, when Kakashi gave Naruto his task. 

And not only was Naruto obviously ticked off, but his body language clearly read  _ cornered _ . His usually composed teammate acting unsettled. Not even when they were attacked by the demon brothers or even by Zabuza (during those short moments that Naruto  _ had _ been conscious) had he displayed such apprehension. 

He found himself unwillingly tensing, the killing intent long forgotten. It was enough that that he fell for the hunter-nin’s innocent facade — but he couldn’t help but think (hope) that Sakura had been wrong — he didn’t need another unpleasant surprise. 

When he and Sakura were relatively relaxed, (and that was very relative — and he was unsure of how Naruto judged, but the timing coincided with the slowing of his pulse) Naruto upped the ante. It was like being set back to the beginning, that same feeling that he started out with. But it wasn't cumulative. Or at least, he didn't perceive it as such. Naruto was increasing his chakra presence at even intervals; when they were sufficiently composed under one level, he increased by an interval. Rinse and repeat. A cycle of their endurance. And each time it elevated, it was like another punch to the stomach. There was no getting used to it.

Every so often, Naruto would point out how high his killer intent was relative to other shinobi. 

Five  _ cycles _ in, he proclaimed, “This is about how much I released when I got angry earlier.” 

Naruto was obviously only passively paying attention to them. He had a steely expression; unsavory thoughts twisting his lips. Sasuke wanted to further observe this unusual show of discontent — perhaps it would reveal something about his ever-elusive teammate. But his  _ occupation _ with not kneeling down and heaving prevented this opportunity. 

He only hoped that it was worth it; that this apparently would build up a tolerance — one that would  _ last _ . Because he didn't want to go through this again. 

“You know, you can negate some of the negative effects of another's killing extent with your own.” Naruto suddenly commented.

“Really? Why didn't Kakashi-sensei mention that?” Sakura immediately responded. 

Sasuke could make out Naruto's lips stretching into a thin smile, far too bitter to reflect any genuinity. “Because of the emotion required to fuel it. Anger and hatred especially; both of which can lead to concentration issues. Not particularly efficient for a shinobi. Fatal, actually. Of course, a talented genjutsu user can replicate the effect without that draw back. So can anyone with a good enough handle on their emotions.”

“So which are you?” Sasuke blurted thoughtlessly.

Naruto's eyes flitted to him. It was true that this was not combat, so it could be neither. But he was obviously not concentrating on the task, suggesting that this was effortless to him. 

His conclusion was confirmed: “The second.”

This new information aligned perfectly with what he knew about him. Which wasn't much. After that  _ shift _ after the genin exams, Naruto exhibited far more maturity than post-graduation. Sasuke only ever considered Naruto’s newfound strength, how he suddenly became so ahead of them. But he admittedly never considered this new mentality other than simple acknowledgement. He knew that something  _ life changing _ happened, but  _ getting stronger _ was (always) foremost on his mind.

But then the implication about genjutsu barreled into him. His br-  _ that man  _ specialized in genjutsu. He had first hand account of that particular ability of the  _ traitor _ . And he could destroy Sasuke with the twitch of the finger. Just like that. But  _ that man _ told him he was so weak, that it just wasn't worth the effort to kill him. He’ll make him regret that. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


While Naruto should have been focusing about training his teammates, he couldn't let go of his anxiety. 

He knew he couldn't change a thing. He couldn't successfully lie to Kakashi. Both his teammates are becoming suspicious. He was stuck in the past without support. Even his personal demon couldn't help him. He was stuck between a mountain and a cliff; and he was getting terribly close to that precarious edge. 

If he wants to actually succeed in saving  _ anyone _ , he would have to leave. Leave Konohagakure. And that would mean abandoning his teammates and his precious people  _ and he didn't want to _ . 

He wanted his team to grow successful, to  _ live _ , and that couldn't happen if he becomes a missing-nin. Konoha wouldn't trust him, and he wouldn't be able to impart any critical information. 

But if he let himself be taken in,  _ interrogated _ , well, perhaps it would be better in the long run. If he is believed — albeit, a Yamanaka would be able to quickly confirm that. But that means certain people would get there hands on that knowledge too. It was an unfortunate reality. 

As his teammates’ heartbeats slowed to a normal pace despite the onslaught of killer intent, he attempted to regulate his own. To little success. 

In his  _ career _ , killing intent was second nature. Any shinobi worth their salt was able to produce and tolerate extreme amount of intent to great effect. But it was really only a reliable tactic against genin and chunin. Jounin were expected to withstand torture, nevertheless killing intent. And while he never made it to jounin, nor chunin, for that matter, he definitely had one’s skillset. 

Even without Kurama's endless supplies, he was confident that he would be successful in evading Konoha. His body just naturally had ample chakra, due to both his surplus in spiritual energy and his Uzumaki genes. Now that he doesn't have to worry about using up all of Kurama's chakra and dying, he had a lot more options. But Kakashi was just a whole ‘nother obstacle. He wasn't confident that he'll be able to escape Kakashi. Not only was Kakashi an elite jounin, but Naruto held some sentiment for his sensei. Attacking him would be attacking a teammate and a precious person — a concept that went against every one of his values and ideals. But letting all that information reach Danzo’s maniacal hands was not an option. 

It seemed that he had staked his hopes in his ability to say in Konoha inconspicuously: and failed spectacularly. It became blatantly obvious that he was not so skillful. And now he was paying for it. 

As he saw his teammates flinch yet again as he raised the potency of his killing intent, he tried putting it out of mind. He should focus on the imminent mission; how to stop Haku from dying.

  
  


* * *

  
  


There was no more _ team training  _ after the killing intent. All three of them branched out into different areas, training their hardest during any open time not occupied by sleeping or guard duty. Even Kakashi-sensei, after proclaiming himself sufficiently recovered, got in on this  _ frenzy _ . It was rare that she’d see her teammates at all, at this point. By the time she got up in the morning, most of her male teammates would be gone; mealtimes occasionally bringing two or three of them together. Guard duty was an established schedule, memorized by heart.

And now, over a week later, Sakura found herself prowling underneath the bridge. 

Once she realized that tree walking provided the basis for water walking, she immediately set upon the task. After an hour of experimentation, she understood the proper method of application. When she noticed how quickly her reserves were depleting, it was then she learned what she should truly focus on. 

After draining herself to the point of exhaustion, she knew she had to find an alternative method. She would never get anywhere if she spent twice as much time recovering as training. But it seemed that the more chakra she had in her system, the faster it regenerated. It took far longer to recover from strenuous chakra use then it took from a quick, one hour sessions. And if she continued to work her chakra, in theory, her reserves should grow. 

So she rotated between one hour of water walking (or other chakra manipulations when it was her turn to guard), two hours of taijutsu (and helping the builders move particularly heavy objects), and an hour of experimentation. 

She was beginning to understand how she could hit so hard. She had augmented her fist with chakra. And she was unbearingly close to being able to replicate the phenomenon. 

At the exact moment of her strikes, she had to expel chakra. Not only does that speed up the movement of her punches, but the chakra  _ almost _ acts as an explosive, bursting at the impact and making it that much more powerful. The quicker and more precise, the more exact her jabs were — and was less costly on her chakra. On the flipside, if she uses a higher density of chakra in a blunter motion, the results are more  _ explosive  _ (and she also lands flat on her back). The drawback was that she had nothing to protect her hands for the impact. When she gets back to Konoha, she’s investing in high durability protective gloves.

But for now, she had to simultaneously enhance her hits with with chakra  _ and  _ soften the impact, which required far too much concentration to get correctly: not being particularly efficient for any use. Sure, if she had a month (or six), she was sure she could polish the technique into something useful. But she had days at most. 

But while this enhancement was particularly tough, there were plenty of dumbed down versions she could use. She could speed herself up. And once she properly adjusted her taijutsu, her punches and kicks would strengthen. Again, she could not hit through a tree without sustaining heavy damage, but she knew how to make a fist that won’t break her wrist if she added the  _ slightest _ bit of additional force behind it.

It was far from the full potential, but it was halfway decent for a week of work.

  
When she and Sasuke-kun took their shift on guard duty the next day, she should have been prepared for the rising mist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugghhh! Writing blocks are sooo annoying! Well, hopefully next week's chapter will get out on time...


	16. Altercation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fight at the bridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a shorty, sorry.

_ One step. One step and the seals activated. A flare of warning, and a resonating boom with a puff of smoke.  _

_ And then they appeared. _

_ The chunin never stood a chance.  _

_ They came in droves. White humanoid figures; green hair and a contorted right side. _

_ “Those- those are what attacked,” destroyed, “the village!” Shikamaru called in recognition, rage contorting his usual placid face.  _

_ Naruto recognized there description. But he didn’t have a firsthand account; after all, he wasn’t there during that crucial time. And now he was getting the brunt of it.  _

_ He signaled the entering team to fall back, but a well-place explosion collapsed the entrance. On top of them.  _

_ That bubbling energy began as trickle into his system. His punches strengthened, his speed increased, his eyes turned red. Shikamaru held them still as he annihilated the drove, one by one. But there was no sticky blood to coat his limbs, no screams of pain. Rather, a tree sprouted out of each corpse. A sick parody of what they destroyed. _

_ One tail. _

_ Power surged through his limbs, his attention unwavering from his task; protect his comrades from any further deaths. _

_ Two tails.  _

_ His attention hyper-focused on the enemy; heightened senses honing reflexes and speed. _

_ Three tails. _

_ Desperation leaked in. He is faster still, but they still keep coming. Rasengan over rasengan to no effect. _

_ Four tails. _

_ Rage. His vision turned hazy with red. More died. _

_ “Naruto! I have a plan!” _

  
  


* * *

  
  


One minute he was sitting in the silence of his room, and in the next he hears a loud bang as a door is slammed open. Angry voices and his mother’s shrieks brought him racing down the stairs. A harsh slap to the face and his mother’s struggles against her attackers. 

“Gato-sama said to only take one,”

“If you hurt him, I'll bite my own tongue off!”

“So be it.”

And suddenly the attacker was disarmed. The thin sword hid the back wall with a clatter. A startled look and a knife through his neck. The other man turned to run. 

And that blond ninja just appeared in his way and struck out against the attacker’s neck. He dropped into a heap. 

The ninja gave them a long look before addressing his mother: “Sorry about the mess.”

She looked frightened for a moment, before bounding up to Inari and wrapping him in a suffocating hug.

When she finally let him go, she responded, “There is nothing to apologize for. You saved us.”

The blond-haired ninja, Naruto, he remembered the other ninja addressing him, scratched the back of his head embarrassedly before making a quick hand motion. An exact replica of Naruto appeared.

“I’ll leave this clone here to guard you two. The bridge is being attacked.”

They both immediately disappeared into the foggy surroundings, leaving a bleeding out carcase in the livingroom.

He gave a blink. Then another.

“So  _ cool _ !”

  
  


* * *

  
  


Kakashi sensed the rising chakra-infused mist on his two-hundred sixty eighth one-handed pushup.  

He swore under his breath as he got up, rubbing away the light perspiration on his forehead with his arm. His two genin were all alone on the bridge. Thankfully, he was still conserving chakra, and had only focused on some light physical exercises the past few days, making his way back into top shape.

The world blurred as he, without respite, executed a shunshin to the bridge.

His students were already in defending position in front of the bridge builder, a crouched stance with clenched kunai. But all the bridge builders, sans Tazuna, were knocked out. 

He made eye contact with the genin just as the eerie voice echoed through the mist. 

“Haku, take care of those brats.”

Sasuke flinched, while Sakura snuck him a worried look. It seemed like his students were getting into trouble without him. 

When Kakashi spoke, he could sense Naruto’s chakra flaring at the client’s household, “I’ll engage Zabuza. Sakura, protect Tazuna-san. And Sasuke,” he spared him a quick look before Sasuke nodded. 

Zabuza’s conspirator used senbon. Senbon could be aimed to either incapacitate or kill, and the fake hunter-nin showed proficiency in the former, the harder of the two. Senbon were also trickier to dodge than kunai, as they were faster and thrown more numerously. Sakura didn’t have the speed to compensate. While he wasn’t comfortable in sending the Uchiha on his own against the relatively formidable opponent, their numbers were spread thin, and Naruto was making a hasty journey in their direction. 

Kakashi could spot Sasuke garner the missing-nin’s attention from the corner of his eye, just as he shifted his full attention to the enemy before him. He had to trust his team to handle themselves. 

“Back for a rematch?” Kakashi taunted. 

The missing-nin barely spared him a glare before speeding towards him, his sword in an ark. 

 

 

* * *

  
  


“You’re a strong one,” the  _ deceiver  _ lightly commented behind his mask.

Sasuke responded with a snarl, hurling kunai at the nin. Haku deftly dodged, countering with sporadic senbon. The missing-nin continued backwards, luring Sasuke farther down the bridge, away from the other battle and  _ Sakura _ . That was their plan. They are separating them; while he’s engaged with Haku, Sakura would be ambushed by  _ someone else _ . But before he could disengage, Haku flicked a single hand into a sequence of hand signs.

“Hyoton: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!”

Hyoton?! That was no ordinary elemental manipulation. 

“A kekkei-genkai!” He cried out in realization.

He was surrounded in a dome made of ice, plates of ice encircling and entrapping him with the nin. The openings between the ice plates were large enough to fit through, but as he moved closer the plates moved together, effectively blocking the exit.

Haku stood with his back to one of the plates, posture relaxed with a senbon twirling between his fingers.

“That’s right. Hyoton, ice release, is a nature release kekkei-genkai. You know, no one has ever escaped these demonic mirrors before.”

Hah! He’ll see about that. Gathering chakra in his mouth, he flicked through deeply ingrained hand seals. 

_ Tiger, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger _ , “Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!”

But instead of impacting the fake hunter-nin and dispelling the ice, Haku stepped backwards  _ into _ the ice, and the fire engulfed the ice and simply  _ dissipated _ .

“It won’t be that easy.” Haku’s voice resonated from each plate.

Sasuke felt a shiver of unease trail down his spine. Haku was reflected from every surface, a kaleidoscope made of ice, with that blank mask staring at him from every direction. 

And then the hail of senbon began. 

It came from behind him, at his back, and it was only instinct that caused him to dive forwards. But then the direction came from above: unavoidable. He used his kunai to deflect as best he could, but a few got past his defences. He roughly yanked them out, unheading of any potential hazards. 

“Is this all you’ve got!?” He yelled, enraged frustration coloring his tone. Haku  _ betrayed _ him. He hated him!

“Look behind you,”

The senbon were an arms length away from his torso. And as everything  _ slowed _ and and his vision sharpened — he could  _ see _ the glints along the sides of the needles, the way they glided steadily towards him — and he could only move torturously slow. The senbon’s trajectory was painfully obvious but he just  _ couldn’t move away _ . It was all he could do to block his vitals with his arms as the senbon pierced through his flesh. Through his legs and arms and  _ it hurt _ \- and he toppled over backwards, his head banging into the ground.

His limbs were numb. He was splayed across the ground, eyes open in shock. So  _ this _ was how he was going to die. Unmoving in defeat, with senbon sluggishly approaching from above. He closed his eyes.

And was yanked away. 


	17. Execution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura faces off with a few mercenaries. The results are quite gruesome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: A bit bloody! (Although it's really not that bad, gore is not my forte anyway.) Now that that's out of the way...

_ Sakura was at the end of her shift at the hospital when they were carted in on various stretchers. Injured. But they were alive. Albeit littered with bruises and gashes and on the brink of exhaustion, but  _ alive _. _

_ It was only later when Naruto confided in her that she realized. _

_ The Akatsuki were back.  _

_ And they were after the nine-tails jinchuuriki. _

  
  


* * *

  
  


She was all alone with the client. 

Kakashi-sensei was engaged with Zabuza, relentless attacks against one another so fast she couldn't blink. But they were evenly matched. Neither could gain the upper hand on the other. 

And Sasuke-kun was losing-  _ no _ , she had to have faith in her teammate. She  _ had _ to.

She felt like a coward. Both Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun were fighting the enemy, and here she was, standing to the side, useless. She could only hope that Naruto would arrive soon. Because she couldn't be there for her teammates, but he could. He will. 

And he did. 

He was moving so fast that she only caught a flash of yellow before he dived into the hunter-nin’s jutsu, out of her line of sight. 

She put her teammates out of mind. She had her own task; letting her anxiety get in the way of the mission was not productive and would get her and the client killed. The client that put them in this position in the first place. 

“Ha, look! It's a pink-haired little girl!” Three mercenaries approached her, jeering.

One leered, licking his lips. “She’ll be  _ useful _ , a good payment,”

All three were heavily armed, and it was all she could do to keep her shivering client behind her. They were releasing a pathetic amount of killing intent, trying to intimidate her. She stepped forward, kunai in hand. 

They were weak, and clearly underestimating her. She used that to her advantage.

She rushed the one closest to her, her hand moving in a slashing motion towards his torso. Chakra was pumping through her limbs. Down the kunai.

She expected him to dodge.

Why didn't he dodge?

But her strike when pulled through and  _ carved _ open his chest. Clean through bone and flesh. And then the body was  _ blown _ backwards, and the fluids splattered forwards. Her arm was coated in blood, but  _ other _ bodily fluids covered her front, the stench reeking the air. 

Her hands shook. So much blood. 

It was in that moment of hesitation that a kunai was aimed at her head. 

She dodged. And the kunai’s edge hit across her temple and through her hair line, shearing some of the long hair off. Blood dripped down her face, obscuring her vision in her right eye. 

She barely registered the mercenaries’ infuriated expressions before diving back in. 

They both attacked her in succession, clearly used to each other's movements.

But she was faster, and she was stronger. And she was running out of chakra, fast.

One kicked her in the chest, and as she wheezed back the other followed with a quick upper cut, knocking her down on her back. 

“Little girls need to know their place!” one mocked, spitting at her. 

She lay still, letting them lower their guard. But she fingered her kunai, gathering her remaining chakra down her arm and then  _ lobbed  _ the kunai at the mercenary's face. It lodged in his throat, and he toppled over with a gurgle. 

More blood on her hands. 

She might as well finish the job. 

While she was low on energy, her opponent didn't have such reservations. He drew a thin, long sword from his back, and smirked maliciously at her. She took a deep breath, attempting to quell the trembling of her limbs.

She tried to shift her focus from the man’s features; either she or he would be dead by the end of the altercation and she  _ didn't need that _ . 

But she couldn't, and her brain carefully characterized his full brown hair and nondescript features and dark eyes. 

And then she stumbled aside, narrowly dodging the wide ark. His guard was momentarily exposed, and she took advantage. She didn't have enough chakra to enhance her strength, so she had to make it count. 

She did.

She left the bleeding corpse behind her. And in her hand was the long thin sword. 

Tazuna-san looked at her open-mouthed as she made her unsteady steps back towards him, but quickly got over his shock and helped steady her. He gave a quick grimace at the gore before wrapping his arm around her shoulder and easing her down. Her legs gave out and her head rested against the railing. He procured a rag from  _ somewhere _ and with mumbled gratitude she quickly snatched it and held it up to her bleeding face, wiping the blood from her eye and lightly putting pressure on the stinging wound.

Despite bleeding profusely, it wasn't a deep wound; it would only need a few stitches if any.  The blood was already clotting, and a few small adhesive bandages would hold it together for long enough for the process to finish. She hoped it wouldn't scar, but it was close enough to her hairline to be easily obscured. A large chunk of her hair was shorn off, making the cut more obvious. 

Her hands shook as her eyes filled with tears. She didn't  _ care _ about her hair! She  _ killed _ those men. 

Her eyes flickered to the scene before her. She almost threw up.

She nestled her hand against her chest, unheeding of the blood and  _ everything else _ . She lurched forwards as she tried to stifle a sob. 

She knew this was part of what being a shinobi was, so why  _ did it hurt so bad _ ? Why didn't she knock them out or throw them off the bridge or-

The resonating sound of shattering ice could be heard.  


 

 

* * *

  
  


Kakashi’s shoulders minutely untensed when he sensed Naruto’s rapid approach. The hunter-nin was a far superior opponent to Sasuke, nearly jounin level while Sasuke, for all that he was the rookie of the year, was a relatively inexperienced genin. Even worse, the adversary managed to goad the Uchiha into relentlessly attacking him, luring him into a trap. No, separating him from Sakura. While the young kunoichi made serious progress over the past week, there were only so many opponents she could handle at once. Even if Gato’s brutes-for-hire didn’t have any chakra capacity, they were capable of physically overpowering her. Especially if she hesitated to kill them quickly.

His attention was quickly shifted back to his own fight, quickly ducking under a wide strike and kicking out at his opponent’s legs. Zabuza jumped back, flipping through hand signs. The water dragon jutsu. Kakashi mimicked the motion, enraging his opponent. But instead of completing the jutsu, he let the missing-nin’s jutsu obscure his position. When the water was about to collapse on him, he executed a kawarimi and created a couple of water clones. The clones in addition to his sharingan were taxing on his reserves, but he should have one left for one final technique. 

While Zabuza was occupied by his clones, Kakashi began to gather his remaining chakra. 

His first clone dissipated. His arm began to tingle.

His second clone was in position. He body-switched with it.

His sharingan locked in concentration as he thrust his hand forward, piercing chakra about to meet its target. 

“ _ Chidori _ !”

It was the wrong target.

  
  


* * *

 

 

Tazuna just saw a young  _ pink-haired _ little girl just kill three full-grown men. Mean looking men that looked like they could crush  _ him _ like a twig. 

But the ninja stood before him, her knife in hand, and cut them down. Gruesomely. 

While the three were taunting her, she  _ flew  _ at the closest one to her and  _ bisected _ him. 

He had seen death before — Gato’s  _ demonstrations _ not leaving much space for the imagination — but this girl’s arm sailed right through his gut and splattered intestines  _ everywhere,  _ like a cheap horror film but  _ real _ . 

These shinobi were powerful. He wouldn't underestimate them again. 

But Tazuna couldn't help the clenching in his gut. The girl’s horror as she stared at her bloodied hand: he was directly responsible for that. He ordered this mission. By asking for this mission, he put children in the way of his enemies;  _ paying _ them to do so. He wasn't guilty about the death, this was for his country, but he  _ was _ guilty about having a child do the job for him. A child horror-struck at what she had done. 

And then the remaining men took advantage of the distraction. 

A knife flew through the air, and it was only quick maneuvering on her part that it missed her skull. But only just. It soared right across her temple, just above her ear. A few blood-soaked pink tresses fell to the ground.

But rather than stay down and give up, she turned back with a snarl.

They had fought hand to hand. She kept up with the two strike by strike. But then a kick found purchase in her stomach, and she was knocked back. The other man followed up with a punch to her chin, toppling her back.

The thud of her head hitting the ground had made him wince. 

They just stood over her and  _ taunted _ . And he was sure that she was done for.

But out of nowhere the man’s head exploded with a shower of blood, and it was only later that he caught a glimpse of sharpened metal.

The girl stood back up, wavering on her feet. Her face had been eerily blank as she stared him down. 

The final mercenary drew his sword, a desperate, crazed expression marking his face.

One swing and he was dead. 

Tazuna couldn't help his flash of fear when the pink-haired girl turned to him, a knife still in hand. But her blood-filled visage and despondent look and her unsteady steps quickly replaced that fear with concern. 

Half her face was smeared with her own blood and seeing her practically collapse on herself was frightening. 

He could only hope that Gato wouldn't send more people after him: the young ninja was not up for another fight. 

He could only ignore the ninja’s wet sobs as he handed her a rag to stem the bleeding.

  
  


* * *

  
  
“Haku-san, I have a proposition for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know... how could Sakura take on three ninjas at once? Well, she didn't. Cuz they weren't ninjas. They're probably academy level - thugs with training. Although they weren't thugs... more like arms for hire; strong enough to beat a civilian but not a shinobi. plz don't kill me, lol. Sakura only had a bit of trouble because of her low chakra reserves and her hesitation about killing. Regardless, coldheartedkiller!Sakura is totally my jam.


	18. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto makes a deal with Haku.

_ Gaara’s decision to  _ invite _ the Konoha-nin to Sunagakure was met with some criticism. Admittedly, his decision was purely selfish — Naruto was a good friend and Gaara refused to leave him to the vultures (Akatsuki) — but would have some benefits to the village. Because, of course, Naruto would never agree to come without his comrades.  _

_ His decision would never gain the approval of these councilman, who have never worked side by side with a Konoha shinobi. Ultimately it wasn't their choice, but having a semblance of approval would make everything run much  _ smoother _.  _

_ His siblings stood at his back as he stood at the head of the council, offering their silent support.  _

_ Many  _ compromises _ had to be made, but Gaara, as always, got what he wanted.  _

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Haku-san, I have a proposition for you,” stated the blond-haired shinobi. 

“Oh?” Inquired Haku.

He was confident enough in his technique that he would let the shinobi speak. He wasn't  _ inclined  _ to fight these genin; any needless death was to be avoided, and if the blond had a bloodless solution to their conflict, Haku would take it in a heartbeat. Besides, the blond boy was dead-center in his jutsu while carrying his indisposed teammate: sufficiently disadvantaged.

The instantaneous action of saving Sasuke, an  _ Uchiha _ , made the other shinobi admirable to Haku; but the slightly apologetic look he sent his teammate as he put pressure on one of his meticulously aimed senbon  _ just so  _ relayed a certain  _ ruthlessness _ not usually apparent in such a low ranked shinobi.

So Haku kept a tight guard as he stepped out of an ice mirror opposite to the blond, keeping his back very close just so he could step back in at a moment’s notice. Senbon aligned the length of his sleeves, only a twitch of his fingers and a slight chakra manipulation to release. 

“Gato never plans on paying you; rather, he ordered your assassination the second you finished your task,” the blond continued, unperturbed.

Haku spent a brief moment wondering where the blond learned his name, nevertheless the  _ information _ he was sharing. But the blond showed no signs of lying, and Haku has had similar suspicions. Gato’s  _ reputation  _ did not leave much to be desired, but Haku held his tongue around Zabuza-sama — he was merely his tool, he  _ refused _ to question Zabuza-sama’s decisions — and he was certain Zabuza-sama had his own suspicions as well: and they could easily overpower Gato's forces if necessary. 

“I know,” Haku replied in a clipped tone.

“I realize that you could easily defeat Gato if it came to that,” the blond couldn't see his prompting glare from behind his mask, “but Gato plans on waiting for us to wear each other down and then strike at who’s left.”

That wouldn’t work in either of their favor whatsoever. Despite how strong Zabuza-sama was, copy-nin Kakashi was equally as powerful. They would wear each other down, much like their former battle, until they were easy picking. After all, he did the very same thing under the hunter-nin guise to Zabuza-sama as what Gato was planning. 

“What are you proposing?” 

Haku knew that Zabuza-sama needed that money: he wouldn't have worked for such  _ scum _ otherwise. 

“Fake your deaths,” the blonde said as if it were the simplest solution. 

“What?” Haku couldn't stop his lips from letting out an incredulous sound.

The blond gently lowered his incapacitated teammate to the ground and made a quick hand motion. Haku tensed as a few strips of paper appeared in his hand.  _ Seals _ . 

“I happen to be accomplished in fuinjutsu. If you were to make a clone and load the seal with your chakra, the clone should be able to sustain serious injury before dissipating. I am rather  _ confident  _ that Kakashi-sensei will win this  _ altercation _ . Use a clone to stop any killing blows — it should hold up. Then you can tend to Zabuza and,” the boy gave him a knowing look, “you can go raid Gato’s store-houses. The citizens of Wave are just about to rebel; Gato’s reign is coming to a quick end.”

And if Gato’s monopoly would fall, they wouldn't gain the life-threatening reputation of double-crossers and continue with their lifestyle. And the money wouldn't be missed. 

The shinobi was suspicious. How could he have such knowledge? It was unthinkable to have so much forethought about such a situation. Unthinkable-

It was then he witnessed Zabuza-sama’s lapse in judgment and he didn't have a decision anymore. 

He immediately created a water clone and yanked a strip of paper from his opponent’s hand, applying it to the clone. The sharp yank on his chakra was startling, but only affirmed the other boy’s words. But if it would save Zabuza-sama, he didn't care. The destruction of his jutsu was the unfortunate side effect of leaving it so hurriedly.

The clone jumped in the way of the lightning jutsu, his body spread like a shield while the real Haku tackled Zabuza-sama out of the way. He could feel the static travel across his body, but it was the clone that took the brunt of the damage. Bits of his clothes scorched, the skin on his side razed in blisters, but both he and Zabuza-sama were alive. 

He had no doubt that if the blond hadn't offered his assistance, this  _ unfortunate _ turn of events would have turned very differently. 

“Ha! And they call  _ you _ a demon?”

A single short man stood before an army of mercenaries, smirking cruelly.

“Good thing I was never planning on paying you!”

  
  


* * *

  
  


The ice dome collapsed. For a moment she remained in place, wide eyed as her own situation was momentarily forgotten. A second passed and she finally comprehended the image before her: Naruto was standing upright, back to her. And a dark body was lying prone on the ground, full of protruding needles.

“Sasuke-kun!” Her cry escaped her mouth as she scrambled up onto unbalanced feet.

Was he dead?! No, he couldn't be. He couldn't. Not  _ him _ ! 

She drives forwards on unsteady feet, unheading of her surroundings. Nothing else mattered. 

She found herself on her knees beside him, his plaid body limp except for a tenseness in his brow. She frantically searched for a pulse, and nearly cried when she found the unsteady rhythm. 

When she looked up she met Naruto's horror-struck eyes. 

But he wasn't looking at Sasuke-kun — who's alive, she had to continuously remind herself, not like  _ them _ — but at  _ her _ . Her bloody clothes and disheveled uneven hair. 

“You killed someone,” he mouthed slowly, expression growing pale. 

She tore her gaze from his eyes. Yes, she did. Even Naruto was disgusted with her. Not that she blamed him. She was pretty disgusted with herself too. 

Sakura absentmindedly soothed down Sasuke-kun’s hair as she clenched her eyes and bit her lip through the unceasing trembling of her frame. She really wanted him to wake up already. 

But then he'd see her. See what she did. She swallowed down a gag as she took a breath through her nose. 

She pushed herself backwards and slammed into someone's legs. 

“Sakura,” Kakashi-sensei’s voice broke through her haze.

She jerkily turned towards him and met with his crouched figure. 

“Sasuke is going to be fine,” her eyes watered with relief. It was _nice_ to have that confirmed.  


His expression was serious as she looked at him in the eye, blinking away her own tears. With a sigh, he reached out and ruffled her hair before pivoting towards Sasuke-kun. 

  
  


* * *

 

How could this have happened? Why? What could have changed so drastically that _Sakura_ had to face opposition on her own?!

This didn't happen  _ before _ . What did he do?! What action of his caused this? 

He thought back, tracing every action back that he could remember.

He didn't know. 

Every single action, every single  _ breath _ , had an opposite reaction. He thought he knew that. No single act, single interaction, even a minute expression change, was inconsequential. Nothing could be exactly the same. This fact was never more obvious.  


Haku was alive, Zabuza was alive, but Sakura could have been dead. He nearly caused the death of his teammate. 

But no, she wasn't dead. Rather, she was exposed to the _shadier_ side of a shinobi's lifestyle far easrlier than she should have. It was only the fact that  _ this  _ Sakura was stronger than the  _ other one _ that she was able to walk away — with a trail of corpses that would haunt the rest of her career. 

He didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. 

Naruto haplessly stood to the side as Kakashi meticulously pulled out senbon from Sasuke. 

Haku, enraged at Gato's proclamation, proceeded to single-handedly destroy the small army. When Wave’s civilians finally scurried up to the bridge, they found a dead Gato and a liberated country. 

When Kakashi was done he carefully picked up Sasuke, sparing Naruto a short glance before heading to the house. 

Sakura barely made it to her feet before pitching forwards. 

Naruto immediately placed a steadying hand under her arm, shifting his weight to let her lean on him. It was slightly awkward, Sakura being slightly taller than him. 

Sakura gave him a startled glance, confusion and hesitance evident in her eyes. 

“Why are you helping me?” She whispered, looking away meekly. 

“Why wouldn't I? You're my teammate,” Naruto answered, keeping his alarm away from his voice. 

He understood what it was like to kill someone, especially so unprepared. He knew the disgust boiling underneath the skin, the irrational need to wash off all the  _ blood _ . But comforting someone was beyond him. 

“How can you stand to look at me! I'm so-” a ragged sob escaped her. 

He could only hold her up as she buried her face in his shoulder.

  
  


* * *

  
  


The ninja had left days ago, and now Tazuna stood before his finished bridge. Gato was dead; the country would be in a state of celebration for days. 

Tazuna couldn't help the proud smirk on his face as he took another gulp from his bottle. 

Those ninja had left the day after  _ The Battle _ , as it was now called. Tazuna had not kept quiet about what happened, frankly embellishing the majority of the proceedings. Now, days later and it was quickly becoming a legend, stories passing mouth to mouth until everyone knew — if only a distorted version. 

“Hey Gramps!” Inari called, running across the bridge towards him, cutting through the crowd. “What will we name the bridge?!”

Tazuna looked up in thought, lips pursed. “Hmmm… I know!” He turned to the crowd, “How about Sakura bridge?!”

“Cherry blossom?”

“Ooooh, I get it! Like the ninja!”

“Yeah, the one with the cherry blossom hair!”

The citizens of Wave broke out in cheers, while Tazuna couldn't help but think back to what happened on the bridge — the way that the young ninja was able to stand back up despite being knocked down. Yes, the name was quite fitting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of the wave ark!


	19. Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto attempts to escape in the dead of night. Kakashi does not approve of this endeavor.

_ Naruto knew he was putting everyone in danger by staying put. Others lathered weak reassurances that he should put it out of mind, that none of this was his fault. He knew better. He did.  _

_ The Akatsuki were after him. It was only a matter of time until they'd catch up with him. It was inevitable.  _

_ Whether he could wade them off was another point of consideration. One member, two even, he could hold off. Any more than that would be a miracle in of itself. But attracting them to Suna — the village of his benevolent friend and the station of all his allies — was not an option. A battle with the Akatsuki would flatten all surrounding land; his techniques were particularly flashy, and the members of the organization would not pay mind to any additional casualties.  _

_ By moving around, the Akatsuki would have a harder time tracking him down. _

_ That's what he told himself anyway as he hastily escaped through the cover of night. _

  
  


* * *

  
  


His arm felt like led, a tingling sensation running down his fingertips that spoke more of static than numbness. Any movement was like wading through water. 

So he was strangely grateful that the fake hunter-nin took  _ care _ of that little army for him. He was much less thankful for the condition he put his genin in. But telling by Naruto's reaction — or lack of one — Sasuke was merely unconscious. 

When the situation resolved itself, he quickly made his way to his students. 

It was obvious that he had to teach his pink-haired student how to make cleaner kills. Naruto seemed to be shocked at his teammate’s action; so was Kakashi, for that matter. He didn’t think Sakura had it in her— and clearly she did, if those three messy corpses meant anything. But from the looks of it, she wasn’t taking it very well. Her shuddering gasps permeated the air, each sounding more painful than the former.

Kakashi didn’t think it was necessary to stop her; there was no imminent danger — and this was something she had to get over on her own. She won't get very far if she can't handle her first kill — or kills, as it was. (Kakashi knows that he has to talk to her, he  _ does _ . But he didn't know what to say. He didn't know whether to apologize to her, or to tell her to suck it up, or tell her it only gets easier, or- He’s been a killer for as long as he could remember; before even, in some cases. He had no idea how to  _ comfort _ . The only people he ever instructed were ANBU, self-sufficient  _ adults _ that had no need for that type of emotional support.)

He carefully leaned down next to Sasuke, observing the senbon wounds. They were each very precise — and non-lethal. (He was sure there was a story behind that. The nukenin easily killed the masses on the bridge, Sasuke wouldn’t have been that much more difficult.) Another begrudging thanks owed to the nukenin. 

It wasn't much later when they hit the road, albeit at a very sedate pace. Sasuke was back on his feet, and Sakura was sufficiently patched up, and Naruto — well, something was  _ off _ , more so than usual, but Kakashi couldn't pinpoint exactly  _ what _ . (Perhaps it had something to do with the couple of corpses outside Tazuna’s, but Naruto didn't bat an eye as they walked by. Kakashi had a vague idea that it wasn't his first time, but if it doesn't affect Naruto's performance, than it was of ill-consequence: not something he will bring attention to. Besides, Kakashi had a feeling that  _ it _ had nothing to do with what was going on.) 

His three students sluggishly trudged forward, Kakashi at their backs, when he pronounced that it was time to set up camp with faux-cheer. 

It was at night when he noticed that one of the customary steady rhythms of breathing was missing from the camp. He wasn't sleeping so much as meditating — a technique instilled in all jounin, letting a shinobi leave their senses open while letting their bodies rest — keeping a vigilance over the makeshift camp. But he was focusing outwards rather than inwards, keeping his chakra open to the impulses of inside threats than ones already present in the camp. And so he missed Naruto's initial escape. 

He focused, his eye narrowing as he concentrated. There. 

Kakashi stealthily summoned a ninken, Bull, his fingers flickering as he discreetly ordered him to keep watch.

And then he was out. He had a blond to bring back, kicking if needed, and an explanation to dig out.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Naruto masked both his chakra and his scent as he soundlessly slipped away from camp. 

He knew this was futile, a fruitless endeavor. But he had to try. Kakashi was an elite jounin, after all, and one with a skillset of an assassin and a  _ tracker _ . He would catch up to him.

Naruto was simply counting on his own accelerated abilities and on Kakashi’s low chakra level. Surely he could easily take the shinobi by surprise with the abilities he’s  _ not supposed to have _ . Surely. That was what Naruto told himself as he ignored the annoyed grumbling in the back of his head.

Besides, it was escape — and leave behind those he’d promised to look after — or be taken to the depths of the T&I branch, interrogated for all he knew and then be discarded. He was sure he was far more useful not dead; such  _ sensitive _ information could not get to Danzo’s hands — not while Naruto lived.

The thought of leaving behind Konoha ( _ again _ ) hurt and leaving his teammates to the wolves even more so. He had gotten attached to the idea of a village to protect — such a commodity had not been available  _ then _ . But it was now; if he hadn’t blown his chances, that is. But he had. And it was painfully obvious that he brought this on himself ( _ like always _ ). He dug his grave; now he had to lay in it.

He buried away his protesting thoughts as he felt Kakashi’s chakra in pursuit. He had less time than he expected. He hastened his pace, gratuitously filling his short legs with chakra, letting his attempt at concealment fade away as his chakra flared up. 

Naruto didn't know if it was the relatively untrained body or a subconscious reluctance of this course of action that let Kakashi catch up so quick. 

He could feel his heart racing with adrenaline, the sweat coursing down his limbs due to both in part the stress on his body and his panicking. 

It was a second later when he was tackled from behind. It was all he could do to brace his landing and shield his face from the gravelly ground with his forearms. Kakashi's weight added with his own caused a resonating thump throughout the forest, and the accompanying skidding only drives the gravel further into his arms, quickly tearing through the fabric of his sleeves. 

Naruto remembered struggling, lashing out with chakra infused limbs. 

He still ended up pressed back against a tree, his wrists held down by Kakashi's far stronger grip, his fingers easily wrapping around them. His entrapper was sitting on his legs, rendering them useless. The was captured. 

Naruto knew this was the end of his line. If he were to attempt anything more drastic, to truly injure Kakashi, he would- it wasn't even fathomable to him, not an option. He'd rather be captured and tortured to death before willingly hurt one of his precious people (even if they didn't know it). 

The will to fight, to  _ escape _ , rapidly drained from him, leaving him to the harsh consequences of his failures.

 

 

* * *

  
  


The bright yellow was easily distinguishable from the surroundings, even at such a low level of light. 

Kakashi couldn't help the burst of anger, the almost-growl that erupted from his throat as he tackled the boy down onto the uneven ground. 

This stupid  _ move _ of his would get him declared as a missing-nin! Kakashi couldn't comprehend- out of nowhere- he was just angry at how easily the blond discarded his team, how he just left on the brink of dawn for  _ no clear reason!  _ He will get to the bottom of this. He didn't care what methods he had to go through, but he will get some  _ answers.  _

The blond’s struggles were frantic, chakra radiating everywhere as he tried to kick him off. The desperation behind the action gave him a pause. His anger quickly melted into concern. 

He fought the thrashing, attempting to hold down his genin through the snarls and the flashing teeth and the  _ flailing _ . But Naruto's desperation made him easy to outmatch. Kakashi easily pinned down the struggling limbs, kneeling down on the blond's legs and holding his wrists behind his back. 

And then the struggles ceased like the snapping of a wire under too much pressure. His whole body slackened until it was only Kakashi holding him upright. The blazing chakra dissipated like a blown out candle, leaving Kakashi alone in the forest with a  _ difficult _ student. 

Kakashi slowly decreased the pressure of his grip, releasing the blond completely when he made no move to continue his fruitless struggles. 

Kakashi kneeled in front of the boy’s limp form, a sigh escaping his lips. 

“ _ What _ do you think you were doing?”  His flat tone was tinged with exasperation.

Dull violet eyes met his own as the blond’s mouth opened.

  
  


* * *

  
  


He had given up. He surrendered.

All was still except for his thundering pulse, thrumming in his ears until her couldn't hear anything else.

But he was almost calm, in a way. His breathing evened out, his surroundings were drowned out to the white noise of his heartbeat, and all tension fled his body. He was numb. 

Then Kakashi asked him a question. 

His lips twisted into a grim smile. Of course Kakashi knew why he was  _ running away  _ (the words left a distasteful flavor on his tongue). He was just taunting him, being mean spirited due to his defeat. (Naruto ignored the part of his brain that told him it was very unlike Kakashi to behave in such a way.)

Naruto spoke in a hushed whisper, his voice without inflection, “You’d capture me and take me before the Hokage the second we’d arrive back to the village”

Surprise flickered across Kakashi's expression, before evening out into realization.

“Is there something you're doing to warrant such action?”

Naruto was a dead man anyway. He had nothing to lose. He might as well  _ shock _ the man while going out. 

A few giggles erupted from his chest before he pronounced “I’m from the future.”

It sounded so absurd even to him, Kakashi would think it's an ill-timed joke. He wouldn't take it seriously.

“ _ Explain _ ,” his sensei demanded, his face unreadable. 

So Naruto did. He explained  _ everything _ . 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda felt evil when I wrote this chapter... Sorry for the delay, I spent like all of yesterday just typing it up.


	20. What happens next

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi and Naruto have their talk. Sasuke and Sakura are left to their own devices.

_He was gone for months, carefully evading the occasional Suna shinobi sent to track him. After a month it seemed that he was given up on; it was then he could truly make his move._

_While he wasn't with his precious people, while he couldn't help them directly anymore, his loyalty was with them and with them only. He would not be idle, escaping his responsibilities, while they put themselves in the front lines._

_Jiraiya's late spy network would live again._

 

* * *

 

Sakura woke up with a strangled gasp, shudders rocking her frame as her body reflexively moved into a sitting position. She ran a hand through uneven hair, fingers sliding over smooth bandages and coarse strands.

Light was beginning to seep through the canopy, fluffy clouds giving way to a rapidly lightening sky.

Sakura's only reaction was to clutch at a kunai as she scanned the camp. Naruto and Kakashi-sensei were missing.

Sasuke-kun, however, was still, his even breaths barely moving his chest. His face was slightly turned to her, making it easy to tell that he was sleeping — far more peacefully than her own uneasy slumber.

Sakura felt a twinge of regret as she woke him up, lightly tapping his shoulder.

He looked at her blearily before squinting and getting up, completely composed.

“They're gone,” he observed, voice barely above a whisper.

“I know,” she replied, her own voice slightly ragged.

Sasuke-kun spared her a brief glance, faint concern stirring in his eyes.

She knew how pathetic she was, his concern was only validation.

Her dreams had been plagued by yesterday, by still bodies and fountains of blood. And Sasuke-kun. His pale skin as he drained of blood, her arm shoved through his flesh. Her subconscious had not been kind to her, twisting the events into something a bit more grotesque, making something vial climb up her chest before she swallowed down.

Her eyes clenched tightly, her face twisting into a grimace.

“Sakura,” and there was worry in his tone.

She took a deep breath and sat down, her expression relaxing.

She stared at her hands, clean and soft, unmarked from the day before.

“Sasuke-kun, what do we do now?”

He dropped down beside her, letting out a sigh.

“Now, we wait.” _They wouldn't leave us behind._

 

* * *

 

Naruto's form was hunched as he spoke, eyes avoiding Kakashi’s face.

Kakashi’s mind was whirling, thoughts firing at a panicked pace as his brain tried to encompass the information he was given, to comprehend it. He ended up with a headache, his head running in circles. _Not possible._

Naruto's (if this was even really _Naruto_ , for _surely_ his own genin could come up with a more feasible explanation) admission hung heavily in the air.

Kakashi's response was choked. “Could you elaborate?”

He could see the boy's (or not-boy’s) lips slip into an ironic smile. But Naruto's eyes remained shadowed and low.

“One can do many things with a knowledge of seals and a chakra demon trapped in their gut.”

And suddenly the idea wasn't that unfeasible.

Fuinjutsu was a skill to be revered and feared. It is deceptively innocent, an outdated skill with few practitioners. Kakashi knew better, he had witnessed better. Scrolls and explosive tags only scratched the surface of its potential. Its only fault lay in the chakra intensivity of the technique; one that was easily overcome if one had, say, a tailed beast at their immediate disposal. Kakashi, by no means, had mastered this branch of chakra manipulation, but he did have slightly more than rudimentary skill at it. It would be impossible, with his late sensei being who he was, not to. But just because he was more knowledgeable at the skill than the average shinobi did not mean he had any talent for it. Shinobi like that came far and few between (to the relief of most hidden villages).

If what he was saying was true, then he must have taken more from his parents than just their looks.

“So you created a seal that allows you to travel through time, with the assistance of your tenant,” Kakashi bluntly clarified, taking Naruto’s nod as confirmation. “Why?”

And truly, why would someone do something so drastic as travel back to their younger selves? The situation seemed unimaginable. There were certain constants in his life, certain places and customs that Kakashi couldn't imagine disappearing. Wouldn't even, for what was there to fight for if you believed it all to be futile?

Kakashi couldn't help his flinch at Naruto's cutting answer.

“There was nothing. Truly nothing. No more villages, no more people, no more allies. I was alone. _Konoha did not exist anymore_.”

 

* * *

 

Sasuke, for once, found himself being the one to attempt to break the tension.

He didn't know exactly what happened, he wasn't there to witness Sakura’s actions, but the clothes soaked in blood — not hers — were telling. And while Sasuke didn't think any less of her for it, she was not of the same mind. She was simply doing her job.

Sasuke's whole life was dedicated to killing _someone_ (someone that he thought he _knew_ ), of avenging his clan before his own death. Sakura just killed some mercenaries that she's never even met. It wasn't something he could comprehend. Didn't she know that this was a simple aspect of their profession?

At least that's what he told himself. (The idea of killing someone, of corpses piling up at his feet, made him nauseous. It would put him one step closer to _him_. To _that_ , a merciless _monster_. Sasuke would give him the same accommodation as he slits his neck.)

“I activated my sharingan,” he stated, offering the opportunity of conversation.

She was clearly distracted when she answered, after a few seconds of silence, but her attention snapped back to their surroundings.

“Congratulations, Sasuke-kun,” she murmured.

And despite the unsatisfactory results of his fight, the danger he put Sakura in, he was proud of himself. He was one step closer, the gap in power was that much shorter.

 

* * *

 

 _Konoha did not exist anymore_. That was what he said.

Well, that would be an adequate reason for such desperate measures, Kakashi thought distantly.

Kakashi was already running through all the advantages Naruto could offer. What this would mean for the betterment of his village, what would happen if this information would get to the wrong hands, if it was even viable.

“Do you have any proof?”

“Proof? What proof could I offer you? Why should you even believe me?” Naruto sounded almost amused, with a thick underlayer of self-deprecation.

Kakashi was unamused, and it obviously showed if Naruto's flinch was any indication.

“If you are from the future, then this mission must have come up in some shape or form in your past. Telling by the strange turn of events, you must have known about it ahead of time.”

“You could have asked me anything, and you ask about this mission? How would you know if I'm not making anything up?”

Kakashi was willing to pardon this brief sign of insubordination, if only because the blond already broke much larger rules (and is lacking in the emotional stability department). In all honesty, Kakashi was simply curious: wondering what would have happened if the mission took its natural course, if his team was influenced in such a way.

“The mission progressed much the same. The two nukenin ambushed us from a puddle. I got injured. Except I wasn't affected by the poison, the Kyuubi burned it out of my system.”

While Naruto paused, Kakashi interjected, “So your connection to the Nine-Tails has been weakened?”

“Yes,” Naruto affirmed, “my own survival hinges on the Kyuubi’s consistent supply of chakra. The seal would normally assure that I receive a constant stream of chakra, but his chakra was depleted so thoroughly that that was no longer the case. I've been experiencing the equivalent of constant chakra exhaustion for the past month. The poison burnt through the remainder of my chakra.”

Naruto was informing Kakashi of his own weaknesses to gain his trust. By giving away such information, Naruto was inadvertently showing that he was trustworthy.

Kakashi was not so easily swayed.

 

* * *

 

“I wish I was as strong as you and Naruto!” Sakura suddenly burst out, breaking the silence.

When Sasuke looked at her, startled, she quickly turned, face red.

While she wasn't as powerful as himself or Naruto, she wasn't weak. She obviously outclassed that mutt and all those fan girls (he carefully omitted that she was one too, before not to long ago).

“At least you beat your opponents,” he commented.

“No, I killed them!” She countered sharply.

“That doesn't make you weak.”

“Yes it does. If I were stronger, I wouldn't have had to kill them.”

“If you didn't kill them, they would have killed you. And Tazuna. And then Haku would have killed them either way. Think about who you saved, rather than killed.”

Sakura stared at him with wide eyes, slowly blinking in shock. It was then Sasuke noticed his own pursed lips and clenched fists.

When Sasuke would kill him, he would be saving people. _He would_.

 

* * *

 

“...Haku and Zabuza died.” Naruto finished his report.

Naruto couldn't fathom why Kakashi would want to know about the mission of all topics, but regardless, Naruto obliged.

It was funny. Now that he is aware of the inevitable, it was strangely freeing to get everything off his chest. And perhaps, after he’s spent sufficient time in the lovely custody of Konoha’s T&I, his word would be confirmed. And maybe Kakashi will take heed of his warnings, and do something. (Kakashi is in a place where he can actually change things — unlike himself.)

Perhaps this wasn’t the angle Naruto had planned on using. Because, truly, Naruto always envisioned himself manually changing the events around him, being the center of progress. He failed to consider how his actions would reflect back onto himself, how the backlash of  _ change  _ could be his downfall. Perhaps this way things will actually get done. (They certainly weren’t so far.)

Perhaps this way Konoha will gain the upper-hand on Akatsuki, and all that follows. Perhaps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I uploaded this from my phone. I hope it comes out alright.


	21. Back at Konoha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are many thoughts regarding Team Seven's absence back at Konoha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve went through my old chapters (well… only chapter one, really. But I plan on more) and editing out stupid mistakes and format errors.
> 
> Sorry about last week’s lack of update. It was primarily due to a combination of writer’s block, X-factor fails, and all those Stucky fanfics.

_ “Let’s say I believed you,” Kakashi broke the silence. “Let’s say you are from this war-torn future, where everyone is dead, and you came back here to fix it.” _

_ Kakashi wearily looked at Naruto. If what he said was true- the implications… But what did this mean  _ for Naruto? _ Because, clearly, he wasn’t dealing too well. All the inconsistencies finally made sense in a, frankly, startling way. And unless someone was able to mimic the Nine-Tails’ distinct chakra, this was  _ actually  _ Naruto. And he was his genin, and therefore his responsibility. The sharingan was supposedly able to see into the future—this was far more concrete.  _

_ “When did you get here?” Kakashi could easily guess; there was a very short gap in which this could have happened, he first wanted to see if Naruto’s answers would match his own determinations. _

_ “Right after graduation,” Naruto answered in his tired, weary, _ defeated  _ voice. _

_ It was clear that Naruto expected him to turn him in when they reached the village. While a part of him wanted to assure him that that’s not the case, a far more practical part was willing to use this to his advantage. _

_ “How far from _ now  _ did you come from?” _

_ “Ten years,” Naruto’s eyes remained down, but his expression twitched. If Naruto was to be believed, then he was in his twenties. Close to his own age, if a few years his junior. An adult in a child’s body—Kakashi couldn’t begin to comprehend  _ that _. ( _ That _ being a bag of problems that Kakashi didn’t want to get anywhere near.) But it made it all the more obvious where his skills came from, and why his taijutsu form was ever so  _ off _ at first.  He moved on to the next logical question. _

_ “So what rank were you?” _

_ Kakashi didn't expect the snort that followed, nor the almost-amused flicker across Naruto’s face. _

_ “I never made it passed genin,” _

  
  


* * *

  
  


Shikamaru knew they should have been back by now. 

It would be impossible not to, with the way Ino was blasting his ears off about it. Couldn’t she see that he was far more interested in the cloud’s smooth glide across the otherwise clear blue sky, rather than her unceasing complaints about how  _ Forehead _ was taking up all her time quality time with her  _ Sasuke-kun _ ? Even Asuma-sensei seemed done with her constant insipid remarks.  _ Even _ Choji was chewing extra loudly to drown her out. 

And how was it that she knew that they should have been back by now? Because Sakura told her before she left! The very girl that Ino continuosly proclaimed her hatred for—which was obviously an exaggeration, as he has seen them before at tea shops and civilian clothing stores  _ together _ . One minute they were best friends, the next they fought over  _ Sasuke-kun _ like rabid dogs—girls were so troublesome. (He was only  _ slightly _ annoyed about how the news of the mission had to come from Ino, rather than Naruto’s own mouth.)

He also knew that he was worried. 

Naruto had, however hesitantly, become a friend of his over the past month. He also made a decent shogi opponent.  _ And _ he was the most difficult puzzle he had ever encountered—something that gave him thrills each time he pieced together a piece. But he also knew that something was wrong with his blond-haired friend. He was always sick, always evaded questions, always got that  _ look  _ in his eyes. And now he was late, and Shikamaru couldn’t help that feeling of dread unfurling in his stomach. 

His eyes tracked a singular cloud across the otherwise still sky, watching as it dissipated. 

The sky was clear when he called out, “Choji, let’s go to that new barbecue place you were talking about.”

Choji sent him a confused look, but quickly obliged, knowing that there was no other way to escape their troublesome teammate. Because Ino would  _ never  _ ruin her  _ perfect  _ figure with such fattening food. 

Finally, some quiet.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Iruka was guilty. He hadn’t had nearly any interaction with Naruto for over a month, and knew it was partially his fault. The second he saw his face at the team assignments, Iruka knew something was wrong. But the previous day must have been very hard on his knuckle-headed former student, and he assumed that the blond just needed his space. Because surely he would be fine, surely he could shrug such life-changing information off like water.  _ Surely _ Naruto would come back to him, and everything would return to normal.

But he never did. 

And Iruka couldn’t regret leaving that academy classroom any less with each passing day. He should have at least seen to how he was holding up, if there was anything he could  _ do—  _ but no, he had to get to the Hokage’s office, to complete his role as the Hokage’s assistant.

It was only a week later that Iruka’s schedule cleared up enough to make a visit, to see if he was okay, to enquire about how he was faring with his new team. And it was a week later far too late. 

Naruto was evasive. He wouldn’t even look him in the eye. He looked sick, and flinched away when Iruka even neared him. And when he  _ did _ look him in the eye, Iruka could barely recognize any aspect of  _ Naruto _ in them. 

Eventually it became obvious his concerns were falling on deaf ears, Naruto’s reassurances (which only made him more worried, as Naruto always made it obvious what was bothering him) becoming a broken record to counter his own words. So Iruka left, walking away with a weak reminder to eat healthier. Eventually Naruto would come to him, for one thing or another.

But there was no orange jumpsuits, no begging for ramen paid at his expense. Nothing. And Iruka became so consumed with his responsibilities, filing through endless paperwork and handing out mission assignments, even writing out lesson plans for the upcoming batch of students, that the month escaped him. 

He was in the room when Sakura—and who would have known, that out of the three she would be the one to ask for a harder mission?—demanded a higher ranking mission from the Hokage. Iruka could barely keep away the scold that wanted to erupt from his throat, knowing that the Sandaime would say something if he didn’t think the genin were ready. He didn’t say anything, and Hatake accepted the mission without hesitation.

Naruto didn’t even look at him.

It was a few weeks later that the Hokage even informed him that Team Seven encountered some unforeseen complications. 

Hokage-sama also informed him that he had faith in his elite jounin to look after the brats, and that there was no reason to run out and deliver them back  _ personally _ .

  
  


* * *

  
  


He leaned back and relaxed, taking a thick drag from his pipe as he took advantage of his few minutes of reprieve from paperwork. 

Only minutes earlier, an ANBU had handed him a daily report of all of Konoha’s current military operations and security. His eyes quickly scanned the report before burning it, the ashes quickly scattering before being blown away. The ANBU operative bowed before escaping out the window, leaving Hiruzen to his thoughts.

The rumors of this new village were quite discerning. Konoha’s intelligence had no news of it’s exact location, nor its leader—just that one day shinobi began to take up Konoha’s missions, claiming to be affiliated with the village Otogakure. Even more alarming was that many of these shinobi were former nukenin, now wearing a headband with a previously unknown symbol.

In two months time, Konohagakure was hosting the bi-annual chunin exam. Otogakure, being a new yet powerful village, would likely request entrance to the exam, to gain standing with other villages and further their clientele. However, their relatively unknown forces make them a security risk. But there was no better way of gaining information then witnessing their shinobi first hand at the exams, perhaps even meeting their Kage. 

He extinguished his pipe before stapling his fingers, his eyes narrowed. Konoha had to increase her security in the upcoming month. He will issue orders to begin assembling Konoha’s shinobi closer to home, having them within village borders by the beginning of the exam. Otogakure was not even the largest security risk, after all. Sunagakure’s discontent with their daimyo was well known, and he had already received word that the Kazekage’s children would be attending.

A thump resonated from his desk as Iruka piled up the latest haul of paperwork. Sometimes he cursed his assistant’s efficiency.

  
  


* * *

 

“Choji! Shikamaru!” Ino called, striding onto their training field. “Have you heard, Sasuke-kun is back!”

Shikamaru nearly dismissed her words, but then realized what that meant.

“Team Seven is back in Konoha?” Shikamaru clarified.

“Yeah! I just met up with Sakura and-” her voice trailed off, her face pinching.

“And what?” he cut in, anxious.

“And, well… she didn’t look that good, that's all.” Her eyebrows furrowed in concern, before she stomped on the ground and crossed her arms petulant, “Whatever! It’s just that she refused to fight me for Sasuke-kun. Clearly she finally realized that Sasuke-kun doesn’t like foreheads that large!”

But Shikamaru blocked her voice out. After nearly three weeks, they were back. And according to Ino, they had ran into some complications. 


	22. Reflections and Refractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Seven is back in Konoha; and they have some catching up to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you could probably tell, updates may be slightly more sporadic from here on out (say, every other week or so). My excuse is school, life, and writers block, lol. Hopefully updates will be more regularly scheduled once the summer starts!

_Naruto dutifully answered Kakashi's questions. Kakashi seemed to believe him—almost believe him—and the more information he offered up the sturdier his claim became._

_But when Kakashi asked about his rank, and his subsequent reaction, Naruto couldn't hide his flash of amusement. He was wrung out, raw as if he was scrubbed by a brush with metal bristles, but as Kakashi's behavior hinted more and more at not turning him to T &I, Naruto could not resist the slight high of bubbling relief. _

_But despite the tense situation, Kakashi's face was incredulous with disbelief. But then he regained composure. Naruto could feel his steady gaze, despite his own hung head and averted eyes._

_“You got away with quite a lot for a genin, didn't you,” Naruto was under no delusion that Kakashi was asking for affirmation; rather, he was stating a simple fact._

_Despite the light tone, a wave of moroseness crashed on Naruto. Everything escalated so quickly after his graduation, that rank became obsolete in the face of skill._

_Naruto scoffed, “Rank stopped mattering after a certain point.”_

_Naruto briefly closed his eyes as he regained composure, the lightly rustling leaves, the scuttles of small nearby animals, Kakashi's steady heartbeat._

_Kakashi remained silent, but his arm, lightly set on his shoulder, was reassuring._

  


* * *

  


Sakura channeled her chakra and punched. The bark of the tree simply grated against her bare fist.

Again.

Her chakra was unsteady as she gathered it into a fine point. But at the moment her knuckles brushed against the wood, the chakra receded, reintegrating back into her meager pool.

_Again_.

But it was no use. Her mind continued to flash back to the blood, the action that caused their deaths. The cooling crimson coating her arm from fingertip to elbow.

She had to suppress a frustrated screech. The one technique that gave her the upper hand, the one thing that won't make her _weak,_ and she couldn’t utilize it. She could never hold up to her teammates.

She dragged her fingers through sweaty hair, tugging at far more tangles than should be possible for her now shoulder length hair.

_“You’ll never win Sasuke-kun with such uneven hair!”_ Ino had taunted just days ago. Sakura had inwardly agreed, and had appeared at the team training ground the next day with shorn hair. Her teammates didn’t even comment. Not that cutting her hair shorted helped, the short tufts of hair sticking out awkwardly at the side of her head, but she felt something in herself changed, and she had a strange desire to reflect that in her hair cut. Besides, long hair was awfully inefficient for a kunoichi.

But those mercenaries often frequented her dreams, the inside of her eyelids a slideshow of what she did. That was why she was fruitlessly punching a tree at such an early hour, trying to beat the images out of her head via her fists. It wasn’t particularly working.

Kakashi-sensei had talked to her when they returned home. His eye revealed understanding, but not sympathy. He told her that this was the reality of the shinobi world, that while it was _regrettable_ that she had to learn this lesson so early, she would have learned it eventually. He told her she might not sleep well for a while, that the image could come back at a smallest reminder, but that she should not let it affect her performance. That Konoha had plenty of resources available should she need them, but, ultimately, it was her duty as a kunoichi of Konohagakure to always serve for the betterment of her village, and if killing was necessary then she will execute it.

Kakashi-sensei sounded like he was reading off a script, his whole body screaming “standoffish,” far more than usual.

But before he turned away he ruffled her hair and gave her a smile, his eye turning into a thin crescent. It was _almost_ worried, but it was surprisingly sincere. Well, as sincere as a shinobi like Kakashi-sensei could be; it was only now that she was realizing the magnitude of what it was to be considered one of the elite—and how far she was from it.

She hit the tree again, this time carefully shifting her entire focus to her chakra pathways. She was rewarded with a dent in the trunk, the thick bark having given way to her fist. Better.

Sakura continued until the sun begun to rise, knowing that her mother was soon to wake, and that she better off not worrying her further.

  


* * *

  


His teammates kept on changing.

When he first met Naruto and Sakura, he hated them both. He hated Naruto's cheerfulness, Sakura's obnoxiousness and— no; that's not true at all. Before everything, before The Massacre, Sasuke thought Naruto was kind of cool. Always smiling, always laughing, always pulling off a prank—sure, the instructors seemed to hate him, and nobody else ever played with him so Sasuke certainly didn’t but… he had almost wanted to. And after The Massacre, those very smiles and laughs made him hate him all the more.

He barely remembered Sakura at all. It was only later, when she joined up with the rest of the girls, that she made herself known. He only ever passively noticed the way her academy scores made grabs at his own, letting her insistent fangirling become her identity in his eyes.

And then they became his teammates, and he realized his initial assessments didn’t match up.

Naruto’s sullenness juxtaposed against his days-earlier cheerfulness in a way that eerily reminded him of his own days after The Massacre, a sudden change of naive to world-weary (except if the pattern he’s noticed was true—the villager’s borderline harassment of his blond teammate—then Naruto couldn’t have been nearly as naive as he showed himself to be). While before he actively commanded attention, now he actively avoided it.

Sakura was quick to adapt after graduation as well. Perhaps at first she would neglect her own training in favor of watching his own. But she caught on one day, and began training as well.

Then Wave happened, and they were all thrown out of their depth.

Thinking back, Sasuke didn’t understand what prompted Kakashi to continue with the mission. Naruto was injured (and was then surrounded with a red haze; Sakura had informed him of his promise of an explanation, and Sasuke expected to be paid up soon) and they had just fought nukenin, while admittedly weak, were still outside their mission parameters. Sasuke remembered being almost excited, having a chance to test himself against a real opponent. Then they fought Zabuza and Haku, and an underlying terror remained with him for the rest of the mission. The meeting with Haku made him realize why he was so afraid—that while killer intent had brought up unpleasant memories, he ultimately feared for his teammates rather than himself. It was only a week later when he was lying beneath Haku’s shower of senbon, his newly awakened sharingan slowly cataloging the trajectory of each individual needle, searing the prediction of his own death into his brain. He then woke up from unconsciousness to learn that Naruto had saved his life and Sakura had killed while defending the client.

And then Sakura had become more withdrawn, her gaze averting from his own, rather than seeking it out. She always trained, always pushing herself. And Naruto was much the same, if only more _open_ than withdrawn. Whatever was holding him back during training had seemed to disappear, and now he threw himself into training without abandon.

But perhaps his teammates weren’t the only ones to change.

  


* * *

  


“I’m fine! Nothing happened… why are you looking at me that way?”

“Nothing happened,” he mimicked, tone scathing. “Then why is it that Ino told me that Team Seven went immediately to the hospital after arriving from a c-rank?”

Shikamaru knows that being this angry (frustrated) with this _troublesome blond-haired little—_ well, it was a little out of character for him. But Naruto had made him worry and still refused to give him any answers.

“How did Ino know that?” Naruto scratched the back of his head, giving his usual fake smile.

Somehow, it was more infuriating than usual.

After a short silence, Naruto added, “Look, it was nothing. I’m totally alright. Good, even. We just ran into some trouble. Apparently the client wasn’t so forthcoming with information…”

Good. Naruto said he felt _good_. It was always “fine,” but never “good.” Shikamaru snapped back into focus after Naruto trailed off into silence.

Shikamaru observed his fellow genin from across the shogi, maneuvering his rook in a way that will allow him to take his opponent's knight within the next five moves. As he actually _looked_ , Shikamaru could genuinely see that the dark circles under his friend’s eyes have lightened, that his overall body expression read far more relaxed.

“Huh,” Shikamaru verbalized, looking back down at the board. Even his playing style has changed; rather than his usual tight defense, his plays have become far more varied, more unpredictable. Still inferior to his own approach, but only just—a far more interesting challenge then Asuma-sensei, that was for sure. What it said about a genin for having better strategies than a jounin was another irrelevant point entirely.

“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling good, Naruto.”

It was the blonde's turn to look surprised.

  


* * *

  


Because he didn’t know Shikamaru in his youth, he didn’t have any preemptive expectation—it made it easy to connect, easy to settle into a light friendship. Especially because Shikamaru was smart beyond his years.

However, he was another person to hound him for answers. The less people he burdened with his own troubles, the better. It was enough that Kakashi knew far too much—and was actively covering for him. And then he went and promised Sakura that he’d explain what that “red stuff” was when they got back to Konoha. He hoped she forgot, as unlikely as that it.

But he was surprised at Shikamaru’s response after he informed him of his improved state. He hadn’t expected him to care all that much— or at all, actually. While Naruto enjoyed the Nara’s company, he assumed that his interest in his health had more to do with his unwavering curiosity, rather than genuine concern. It was strange; the genius barely even knew him, there was no reason to _care_ . (Especially not about _him_.)

It made him feel just as good as it made him uneasy. When he sat next to Shikamaru that first day, he had set out to make an ally, not a friend. Someone who would work with him, listen to his warnings, rather than someone who would worry.

He didn’t understand Shikamaru’s response, just like he didn’t understand Kakashi’s (the man knew that he was an imposter, knew that he wasn’t the _Naruto_ that he was supposed to be, but still, even after he informed him of the future—and was _believed—_ he didn’t turn around and tell the Hokage. Rather, he tried helping him, with something akin to sympathy in his eye). It was off-balancing, to say the least.

Naruto looked back down at the board, blinking at his absent knight. He must have been far too deep in thought to let that happen. (He may of had a bit of a hard time with the fact that a genin nearly half his age was consistently beating him at a strategy game.)

 

 

* * *

  


They had just finished their daily d-rank missions when she and Sasuke shared a look. It was time to execute their plan.

“Naruto,” Sakura called out, catching Naruto's attention before he could return to his apartment.

He turned, blinking in surprise at them (feigned, as Naruto didn't get _surprised_ ).

“You promised us some explanations,” Sakura added. She could barely hide her boiling anticipation, so close to getting some answers _finally_.

His expression turned guarded, mouth twisting into a thin line before he let out a sigh.

“I was hoping that you wouldn't take me up on that,” he murmured with an almost apprehensive light in his eyes.

Yes, Sakura was more than ready to get some answers about her enigmatic teammate.

  
  


* * *

  


It was when Shikamaru was walking back to his clan compound, returning from a team eat out at of one of Akimichi restaurants, when a tall figure approached him, appearing at his side unexpectedly. Shikamaru jumped back, his hand lingering over his kunai pouch as he got a look at who it was. Through dimly lit streets, he saw silver hair and a book obscuring the man’s face. Hatake Kakashi; Naruto’s genin sensei.

“Mah, mah, there's no need for that,” the jounin gestured vaguely with his hand as he drawled.

Shikamaru had no idea what the jounin wanted, but he had a feeling that it was troublesome.

“You are Naruto’s friend,” Hatake-san started.

Very troublesome.


	23. Deals and Alliances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi and Shikamaru have a talk, and Naruto's teammates finally hear the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jeez, really dug myself into a hole with the last chapie… This is what happens when you write without a plot outlining, folks! (I’m a terrible role model and *never EVER (!!!)* use me as an example for anything, lol) I'm not too proud of this chapter, I hope you all enjoy anyways.

_When the toll of bad memories became evident on Naruto’s face, Kakashi withdrew. For both their sakes. There was only so much mind-blowing information he could process at once, only so much he_ wanted _to know. There was a reason shinobi never questioned their kage, never thought about the implications of their actions. It put him ill-at-ease to be presented with that knowledge, to be informed of the destruction of the village you’d pour your soul into. That this is the legacy of his village.  
_

_Admittedly, there was a moment when Kakashi was tempted to inform the Hokage immediately, regardless of any self-made promises._

_But he quickly stifled the urge, clasping the blond’s shoulder instead. With the feeling of jutting bones and tightly wound muscles beneath his palm, Kakashi centered himself. Despite his discomfort with the situation, Naruto was his genin—his responsibility. This was no imposter; his acute chakra sensing, especially at such proximity, made the immense chakra coils, a signature of a jinchuriki, blatant, just as obvious as Sakura and Sasuke’s own minute signatures just miles away or Naruto’s own constant radiance of bijuu chakra. No, Naruto was not an imposter in that sense. And Kakashi’s team came first. (Obito’s determined speech in opposition to his cowardice repeated itself in his head, unyielding.)_

_He abruptly removed his hand off Naruto’s shoulder, jolting into a standing position. His eye unwavered from his genin’s position, despite his confidence in his ability to dissuade Naruto from fleeing once more. Naruto followed suit, leaning against the bark of the tree, momentarily making eye contact before jerking his eyes away to a spot behind his shoulder._

_Kakashi felt more reassurance was necessary to put the blond at at least momentary ease.  
_

_“Naruto, I’m not going to tell the Hokage.” When the blond’s face contorted in confused suspicion, Kakashi when on, “I’m not in the habit of betraying teammates, after all.”_

_Kakashi was not ignorant of what went down in the bowels of Konoha; a supposed time traveller, or worse, an unbalanced jinchuuriki would not fare well at all. He wouldn’t wish it on most; especially not on the enigmatic boy (_ man _) that has been in his team—and therefore under his care—for the past month and a half._

_“However, don’t make a pattern of running away,” Kakashi leveled Naruto with his hardest glare; one known to make even ANBU quiver._

_A sardonic grin graced the blond’s face. “Of course not, Kakashi-sen_ sei _.”_

_They sedately tracked back to their make-shift camp. Wouldn’t want to make his genin worry too much about their missing teammates. (For all that this mission was rather drastic way to acquaint his genin to life and death situations, it had the positive side effect of team bonding—or a deep seated paranoia about each other’s well-being.)_

_He kept Naruto in easy viewing and reaching distance; it wouldn’t do for his genin to make another run for it, despite the reassurances to the contrary.  
_

_“Even if you won’t tell the Hokage about me, you’ll still report the incident with the Kyuubi,” Naruto abruptly stated, quite voice echoing in the silence of pre-dawn._

_The blond was correct, of course, but it was an accusation nonetheless. And Kakashi had little choice but to do so—Sakura and Sasuke were witnesses to the very same event, it would do little for him to omit the event that was ultimately going to reach the Hokage’s ears either way._

_“You should take that up with your teammates, not me,” he remarked, revealing his lack of hand. “Would it be so bad?”_ Is there something you aren’t telling me?

_“Yes,” Naruto snapped, agitation obvious in the twitching of his fingers. “If it’s reported, my seal will be checked.”  
_

_“Oh?” he intoned dangerously._

_Now he had something tangible. Something about Naruto’s seal wasn’t right, enough that it would give him away. That was worrisome. For all he knew, this whole time—_

_“It’s not what you are thinking, Kakashi-sensei. I told you, I have some talent with seals. I’ve made some_ modifications _in my time, and they carried over.”_

_His lie was almost convincing, but something made him not call Naruto out on it. A bijuu, a beast that destroyed whole blocks with the swipe of a tail, frightened even the most hardened of shinobi a ferocious roar, would not act in such a way. It would not be so desperate, so human. So Kakashi let it go. For now._

_Naruto ignored his lack of response and continued: “If I can convince my teammates to omit it from the report, would you be willing to do so as well?”_

_Naruto was offering him a deal. He’d inform his teammates of his tenant and Kakashi would lie to his kage. Sounded about fair._

_“Deal.”  
_

_And clearly, Kakashi was a terrible shinobi. (He’s been following in his footsteps this far, why not jump off the cliff as well? Yes, Obito wouldn’t have even hesitated. Not like him.)_

_There was a given week for recuperation and reports after an A-rank. Naruto would have his chance then. And he would have his own._

 

 

* * *

 

 

This was it. His teammates had finally cornered him.

He was surprisingly nervous, anticipation causing adrenalin to run through his veins. He had to combine enough truth with his careful omissions, enough of a story to cause sympathy, but not distrust and pity. Not a strong suite of his, to say the least.

He looked up at them with feigned surprise, noting Sakura’s anticipation, as well as Sasuke’s weariness.

“I was hoping that you wouldn't take me up on that,” he started, showing his reluctance. He had to make this believable. 

He briefly contemplated the pros and cons of fleeing right at that moment, but he knew that he had to get this over with. If they thought less of him, well, perhaps it would help his cause.

“Look, this is kinda serious, alright?” he stalled, appearing hesitant. He _was_ hesitant. This was practically an impossible task. Sure, they were his teammates, but having them leave crucial events out of their reports was borderline treasonous. 

He needed to get it over with. His hand clenched, and he realized his palms are sweaty.

“This is an S-class village secret. I’m one of the only people authorized to reveal it. Spreading this information is punishable with death,” be began.

“Dobe, what did you do to warrant an S-class secret?” Sasuke interrupted, looking incredulous.

“He was just getting to that!” Sakura whisper-screamed, reprimanding.

Naruto couldn’t help the short laugh bursting out of his chest, marveling at the team dynamics. This would have never happened back then. Naruto felt a hint of regret. After he told them about Kurama, it was likely they wouldn’t feel this at ease with him.

They quickly quieted, their attention back at him.

He said it all at once, getting it over with, “I’m a jinchuuriki; the nine-tails was sealed into me when I was born.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Naruto is very different than how he was in the academy,” A hint of question lingered in his words, but any expression other than apathetic carelessness was just as masked as his face. 

Kakashi had no idea what he was doing; this course of action was exceptionally spontaneous, even for him. But he didn't have any information on hand, no way to confirm Naruto's words, by anything other than the desperation in his voice and his steady pulse. Both of which could be faked by an able shinobi—which Naruto was apparently _not_ , according to his prior records. While he could get a confirmation from his other two genin, it would draw further tension in the team. Besides, he wanted to see how they reacted to Naruto’s status as a jinchuuriki. He wouldn’t want to interfere, after all.

But Naruto had disclosed once, in the passing, that he was friends with the Nara heir.  He hadn’t put much thought in it, but later realized that he must be one of the only people Naruto had exposure to out of choice. And therefore must have some further insights into his time-traveling, mysterious genin.

“Yes,” the Nara agreed, returning to his previously slouched form. He continued walking, seemingly ignoring his presence.

A few moments pass in the shadowed streets, the genin walking sedately towards his clan compound. The streets were hardly empty, the nightlife just waking up, but it was a civilian district, the visual of shinobi becoming so commonplace that none payed it any heed. Kakashi walked a few steps behind in his usual manner. 

Kakashi was hardly paying any attention to his invigorating book, his focus solely on his surrounds, as per usual for a shinobi of his caliber. ANBU high on roof tops, making their usual rounds—different every day, but Kakashi still remembered how dull (yet not half as bad as genin d-rank supervision) it was to stealthily make his way across the village, with no goal other than observation. Civilians making their way in and out of apartments, a few approaching drunk at the local bars.

“You’re worried,” the genin cut into his thoughts. 

“What makes you say so?” he asked, voice pleasant with a hard edge. It was almost unnerving to be read so fast.

“Naruto has been acting differently from the academy, something which you undoubtedly know. But you’re a jounin, so observation shouldn’t be an issue. Except Naruto is likely repeating the same pattern with you as with everyone else, never revealing much. Something happened on your last mission, and now you want some outside observation, likely to validate your own conclusions. Is that right, Hatake-san?” The Nara didn’t look at him once, continuing unflinchingly on his path.

Kakashi realized that he underestimated Nara Shikamaru, a fact he’ll have to remedy.

“Sounds about correct, Nara-san,” he drawled, patronizing.

The Nara’s little deduction would have been far more unnerving if he hadn’t met the jounin commander. It was still a higher caliber of genius than the so easily handed out title. 

“It’s not like he tells me anything either. I bet you know a lot more about him than myself,” the Nara evaded.

It was obvious that not only did the genin feel frustrated about Naruto’s secrets, but was also cautious about sharing information, either because of loyalty to his friend, or just laziness. The genin would have evaded the conversation entirely if it was the latter.

“You’re worried about Naruto too,” Kakashi flipped the table back at him.

The Nara froze in place momentarily, but then continued on unperturbed, sans a muttered ‘troublesome’.

Kakashi almost felt bad, manipulating one of Naruto’s surprisingly loyal friends, but he was a shinobi. And it wasn’t as if the Nara was ignorant to what Kakashi was implying. No, it was mutually beneficial. They both worried about the same blond, after all. Sure, there were certain details that the Nara would have to go without, the Kyuubi and time-travel being prime examples, but an alliance of sorts would not go amiss.

“What are you suggesting?” The genin caught on.

“Nothing much. Just some information exchanges, is all. Just inform me about anything _worrying_. I’ll strive to do the same.”

“You’re asking me to spy on him,”

He was. But he knew Naruto would never come to him if he performs anything stupid. It was likely that he wouldn’t tell his friend either. But friends were privy to far more than superiors. (And Naruto wasn’t that close, by any means, to his teammates.) And Kakashi was worried that Naruto would do something drastic.

“Yes, I am.” he replied bluntly. 

The Nara stopped and turned, looking at him with a scowl. A refusal was obviously at the tip of his tongue.

“I’ll leave your report to your discretion,” he added thoughtfully. It wasn’t as if he wanted a report of his every movement. No, he wanted to know a bit more about the blond’s mental state—the display in the forest was more than a little disconcerting.

The genin took it as he intended, eyes widening incredulously for a moment and a faint smirk tugging at his lips.

“Sure,”

Kakashi knew that it would take an awfully big emergency for the Nara to come to him in regards to Naruto. However, it was relieving that his genin had someone loyal to him. (Perhaps Kakashi worried just a little bit less.)


	24. Knowing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few reactions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And hopefully this makes up for last chapter's cliffhangers! (And hopefully it's not too ooc... whatever, it's an AU *insert tangent about how this is fanfiction here* lol)

The encounter was strange, of that Shikamaru had no doubt. Naruto’s sensei was eccentric, and extremely so. Much like the rest of Konoha’s shinobi. And this one seemed to value subtly and problem solving. If Hatake-san truly wanted him to spy on his genin, he would have assigned it as a mission. It may have taken him a moment to catch on, but Hatake-san offered an alliance of sorts. Simply put, the man was making him aware of his presence and his ability to assist should Naruto do something particularly stupid or worrying.

Shikamaru knew with full certainty that the jounin had layers over layer of underlying reasons for this course of action, but it didn't take away from the relief that he wasn't the only one sticking out for his new-found friend.

 Naruto was always so secretive. It was just a fact. Shikamaru doubted that anyone actually knew Naruto in his fullest extent. But Hatake-san knew _something_ , something that changed the game. Why else would he come to him, a lowly genin? Something worried Naruto’s sensei, something about Naruto. And Naruto was being as unforthcoming as always. It was obvious that Hatake-san would not purposefully reveal anything of importance to Shikamaru, but there was information to be gained from elsewhere. Shikamaru would take all that he could get to unscramble this puzzle.

And it _was_ a puzzle, as much as its lines were getting blurred. Naruto was a puzzle to be solved, a nagging question to be answered, but there was more to it. Far more. He was his friend too. And he worried, just like Hatake-san. While Naruto looked better, in all meanings of the word, it was not good enough. Not to Shikamaru. Naruto pronounced himself as “good,” and perhaps it was so to Naruto. Perhaps he had no other reference, for all that Shikamaru knew. But while the shadows have lightened from his eyes, they were still there, lurking. And whenever they met up, Naruto was subject to falling into long silences, eyes unseeing and melancholy evident on his face.

Shikamaru was not an optimist, but he wasn’t a pessimist either. No, he was a realist, and while the conversation with Hatake-san has bought Naruto’s well-being forefront to his mind, Shikamaru had to remain objective. Shikamaru knew that in the past short months, Naruto became just as valued, to him, as Choji and even Ino, on the occasion. But Shikamaru has known them for his entire life. He could not say the same about Naruto. No, with Naruto, it seemed as if he never actually _knew_ him. Not in the academy, as the attention-seeking prankster. And not now.

Somehow, this didn’t detract from Shikamaru’s need to puzzle him out, to be his friend and try to help him. Despite knowing that no such assistance would be coming from the other end.

Perhaps it’s the long dwindling streets ahead of him, obscured by shadows that make him feel this way. The lessening of civilians replaced by tall trees as he passed by the Nara woods into his clan threshold. The blinking lights of the compound.

But he was a Nara. And if anything, he could navigate the shadows. And if it comes down to it, he can manipulate them as well.

 

 

* * *

 

 

He exuded hesitance, reluctance, his words appearing to be physically forced out his lips. And then— and then she blinked once, twice, as shock created turbulence throughout her mind.

Sakura felt lightheaded. She just couldn’t get a grasp at the thought, couldn’t comprehend what was just told to her. The Kyuubi. The Nine-Tails. Everyone knew what it was. The story: practically a legend if not for the scars etched throughout Konoha. The all-powerful Yondaime, destroying the beast at the cost of his life. Except not.

No, Naruto suggested the contrary. That the beast was sealed. In _him._ It was as if he suggested that the village wasn’t founded by Senju Hashirama, or that the Uchiha Massacre was staged, or that— it was frightening.

But then everything began to ravel into a sense of clarity, tidbits of unaffiliated information knotting together into a chain of thought. _Oh_. The red chakra, the ostracizing, even his _birthday_. And she _knew_ chakra couldn’t be destroyed into thin air, especially a construct such as a bijuu. No, ‘destroying’ chakra would imply scattering it, and from the accounts she had heard at the academy, just being in the vicinity of the beast caused chakra poisoning; pouring such a concentrated amount on the village would have been disastrous—if deconstructing such a thing was even _possible_ in the first place!

She didn’t know the first thing about sealing. Of course, the academy touched upon it, but other than an image of a sealed scroll or paper bomb, they never went into detail. Clan students would have some inside knowledge, but all knew better than to talk about it. She remembered the short moment of fascination followed by disappointment when Iruka sensei said it was too dangerous to go over in class. Paper turned into weapons: books were always her strong suit; she had thought the same methodology would apply. But as most ninja arts, it was undoubtedly more complex than just paper and ink. Likely very chakra intensive. But clearly, Naruto’s existence being a prime example of this, very powerful.

But as quickly as her thoughts came, she just as hastily blinked them away, focusing on her blond teammate.

His head was turned from them, the thin edge of his mouth barely visible from her angle. His fists were clenched and body tense and Sakura couldn’t help but think that he readying himself for rejection. For the same treatment as the villages from his own very teammates. That lack of faith frustrated her just as much as it saddened her. Surely he should trust them after all this time? At least be sure of their support for him. Right?

She opened her mouth, trying to convey words of that kind, but found she couldn’t. She didn’t know what to say. She was a bit angry, a bit frustrated that he hadn’t told her about this before. But she understood. If she had such a secret, she wouldn’t want to tell others either. Especially not the people who she has to spend every day around. But didn’t Naruto trust them a little bit, trust them enough to know they wouldn’t turn their backs at him? But as she studied Naruto’s expression, she realized that no, he didn’t.

A moment passed in silence. Neither her nor Sasuke nor Naruto had anything to say. Or rather, didn’t know what to say. There was more tension between the three of them now than when they got their team assignments in the academy.

She huffed, stepping back. Naruto briefly glanced at her, face unreadable, but Sasuke— he was trembling with rage.

Sasuke was glaring daggers at the ground, letting off faint waves of killing intent. Intent which she had mistaken for tension, her mind supplied. His sharingan was on, she noted. She didn’t know what set him off like this. Was it the fact that Naruto never told them? That it was sealed in him in the first place? Or was it the deception of the village? She knew that, as a hidden village, certain facts had to be covered up for the overall betterment of the village but… she still felt slightly betrayed. And she didn’t know. She didn’t know Sasuke-kun well enough to make such a determination.

And that realization was crushing.

She didn’t know Sasuke-kun, and she certainly didn’t know Naruto. Nor Kakashi-sensei. She had been on this team for months, and it was only now that she realized the gap between all the members of team seven. Because she hasn’t cared until now. Now, days after a dangerous mission, days after she killed those men, minutes after Naruto told them an s-class secret. Now. Because now she understood what it was like to have teammates to watch her back, to have motivation to become stronger, to want to keep your friends alive. And despite not knowing much about her team, she considered them friends. And she didn’t want to see her team like this.

 

 

* * *

 

 

He felt hot, as if his blood was ignited, carrying flames through his veins. He didn’t know why, why he felt this way. He was finally told the truth.

But betrayal ran hot. 

It wasn’t that Naruto contained the Kyuubi, had all that power sealed right into him. It wasn’t that that very same beast, that attack, was what ostracized his clan from the village—because he knew, damn it. He was only a child when they were destroyed but he knew of the discontent. One never hid much from young children, especially ones who failed to impress in the face of a prodigal eldest son. Surely he wouldn’t understand the whispers at such a young age? As the son of the clan head, he had been privy to a lot more than he should have been, if only by proximity. And the discontent, the attitude towards the village, was blatant within the closed off compound. His father’s biting voice audible through thin walls. And he remembered. Remembered how one day there were whispers, and the next is silent.

He didn’t blame Naruto for that. He didn’t blame Naruto at all. 

It was the village. He was mad at everyone. But not Naruto. Naruto told him the truth. The village hid it, and hid it poorly. It was the fact that they were lied to, lied to from birth that really got to him. How did he know what to trust? Because the very village he served continued to break it, over and over.

He knew it couldn’t be personal, but he felt it as a slight against himself.

His vision swam as he stalked off, not sparing Sakura or Naruto a single look because he knew he would do something rash if he did. His feet were aimless, all sense of direction lost to his inner turmoil.

Why did he feel so betrayed? 

The crunch of foliage was heard with every step, and he distantly noted that he walked right into the forest. The air grew darker and murky the further he went, a wafting humidity coming off the surrounding plant life. The sound of crows faded as he strode, replaced by ruffled leafs and trickling water and animal cries.

His wanderings were stopped by a river cutting through the trees. The water rushed through the heavy current. He could cross it easily. But he didn’t. Rather, he collapsed onto his knees, uncaring of the sinking moisture penetrating through layers of cloth. 

His reflection was distorted, but the twin pinpoints of red were obvious. He stopped the chakra flow with disgust, inwardly chastising his lack of control. No wonder he felt so wrung out, despite not doing anything strenuous the past few days.

He sighed, tipping his body back onto a nearby tree as his temper cooled into an underlying hum.

He shouldn’t have gotten so angry. Obviously, it was a culmination of events that caused this, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t deal well with betrayal, and the realization that the village has been lying about something so substantial, well, there were certain parallels that could be drawn.

Parallels that he didn’t _want_ drawn.

Minutes passed as he calmed himself to the sound of rushing water. He tried not to think.

Unfortunately, no such thing happened, especially when a certain dobe decided to follow him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ….ugh, I have finals soon, so idk if next chapter will come out on time...


	25. Persuading

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then Naruto convinces (manipulates) them out of reporting Naruto's use of the Kyuubi's chakra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what, I'm still alive! (Just a few weeks late)  
> I had some studying to do (well, more like procrastinating via reading fanfiction instead) and finals and stuff. And I'm happy to report that I did surprisingly well, and that all your support payed off!   
> **Even better news!! I got this most adorable kitten, he is just too cute! (And slightly distracting, but alas, totally worth it.) He may have a bit of a habit of sitting on the laptop.

For a moment she stared at the empty space that Sasuke-kun had just occupied before turning her gaze back to Naruto. His teeth worried at his lips, uncharacteristic confusion playing across his face. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. 

“Look,” he started, finally addressing her.

It was obvious that he had more to say. There had to be a reason for him to tell them this, after all. 

As she thought about it, it became apparent that Naruto had never talked about himself, not for as long as she knew him. Despite her initial confidence that Naruto would give her an explanation—because he promised—Sakura knew that he just didn’t work like that. No, she was honestly expecting more excuses, more half-truths and perhaps some clues that will help her piece it all together. Not for him to straight up tell her that he was a jinchuuriki.

And if she learned anything in her short time as a kunoichi, it was that not everything was apparent at first glance. He didn’t have to tell them anything; the red mist would have been included in their report and the Hokage would have understood.

“Could you _please_ not include any mentions of the Kyuubi in the report? Please, Sakura.” His request was almost nonchalant, but he couldn’t completely hide the plea in his voice.

 It took her a moment to comprehend what was being asked of her, but then she gapped, agast.

 “Wh-what? That would be treasonous! Naruto!” She stuttered, taken aback at the request. He was her teammate, and there was a lot she would do for him. This though? There could be numerous flaws, most of which would point an unsavory arrow right at her. Most glaringly: “Wouldn’t Kakashi-sensei have to report it anyway?”

 He blinked at her, slowly, and then turned his head to the side, obviously hiding a snort of amusement. “That’s what _you_ would worry about, isn’t it?” he outwardly mused. “I’ve already spoken with him,” he assured, “he said if I could convince you two, he would _forget_ about the incident.”

She glared at him, unamused at his hilarity of the situation. She would check with Kakashi-sensei afterward, that was for sure.

“Why don’t you want this getting to Hokage-sama?” And for as long as she had this over his head, she would milk it for all its worth.

“If it’s let out that I’ve been using his–its chakra, especially ‘cause I was unconscious, it could have _unfortunate_ consequences for me.” The amusement from before was all but gone, a serious, sullen tone replacing it.

“How unfortunate?” She challenged, her eyes narrowing.

He sighed, his hand coming up and rubbing beneath his eyes. “The report will be available not only to the Hokage, but to his advisors and the council as well. While the mission was an A-rank, it is still completely unclassified, due to its nature. For an event such as this, such a threat to security, the council will get up in arms about it, and the information will quickly leak to the rest of the village. As for the rest, well, you’ve seen how I’m treated by the villagers,” he trailed off, visibly agitated.

And she knew she couldn’t do that to her teammate. Not after he comforted Sakura after her first kills. Not after he saved Sasuke-kun. Not after he drudged through a month of D-ranks with the rest of them, occasionally joining in on the commentary of how useless it all was. He was her teammate. She was not scum. 

“Fine. I'll do it.” 

It wasn’t as if she wasn’t obscuring certain details about the mission anyway. ( _Sasuke-kun clenching a trembling kunai closer and closer to his neck; Sasuke-kun interacting with the stranger-turned-enemy in the forest._ ) No, she could afford the same courtesy to Naruto.

 For a fraction of a second, stark relief was apparent on his face. It disappeared in a blink of an eye, covered by a grimace.

 “I need to–” his body was angled to the side, hand gesturing towards the forest.

 She cut him off. “Go,” she nodded towards the path Sasuke-kun took, “go ask him.”

 Because she definitely didn’t want to be part of _that_ conversation. As much as she liked Sasuke-kun, there was only so much she could handle in one day.

Naruto looked at her hesitantly before turning around and vanishing into the forest as a blur. 

Sakura sighed, taking it as her cue to leave.

She had already drafted her mission report the day earlier. Now she had major edits to make. That could wait for tomorrow. Right now, all she wanted to do is overstay her welcome at the public baths.

 

* * *

 

At Sakura's dismissal, he turned, body-flickering towards Sasuke's signature.

(Naruto knew that he technically shouldn't even know how to perform a shunshin, but he found it hard to care. There was a certain relief to be found in frivolous chakra use, especially after surviving for so long on the cusp of chakra exhaustion.)

He ultimately got what he wanted, convincing Sakura to remove any mention of Kurama from his report and saving him a lot of trouble. So why was he so unsettled?

This Sakura was becoming more and more like the old (his) Sakura, yet not. There was one minute where he could see _her_ in Sakura's actions, and the next it was as if she was a total stranger. She's far more mature than what she was then, but then he gets painful reminders that she is still a child, and not (and never will become) the war-hardened, sister in all but blood, precious person that he had known so well. He automatically anticipates her reaction to be one way and then is shocked by another.

So he was slightly surprised by Sakura’s easy acceptance, just as he was by Sasuke's quick anger.

Not only did he not know what caused it, but also it messed with his plans. Instead of telling them both at once, he had to tell individually and deal with whatever was bothering Sasuke. Likely being the person whom Sasuke was angry at did not better the situation. Sakura was only half of the equation. The entire team had to be on board— and it was up solely to him to do the convincing. 

The air was saturated with Sasuke's chakra, so much so that it marked a winding trail through the trees. Naruto dutifully followed, trying to push down his unease.

In a near instant he stood by a river, standing on moist moss that squelched beneath his sandals.

“Dobe,”

“Sasuke,” Naruto responded, not resorting to insults. It may have been only months since the days since they called each other such names, but for Naruto it has been years. (Sasuke-teme nearly slipped his tongue despite the fact, but that was completely irrelevant.)

Naruto ran his eyes across Sasuke's figure, noting his sprawled position on the wet soil.

“What do you want?” Sasuke asked, scowling up at him.

Without preamble, Naruto answered, “Please don't mention anything about the Kyuubi in your mission report. Just. Don't. Nothing about the red mist, or the long unconsciousness. Please.”

Naruto could barely hear Sasuke’s mutterings to himself over the rushing water, ever with his sharp ears. 

Sasuke's eyes were strangely lifeless as he glared at him, flat and uncanny. “Why?”

“I know you're mad at me,” Naruto began, “but—”

“I'm not mad at _you_!” Sasuke cut in, eyes flashing red for a hapless moment as he seethed, before tearing his gaze away. “It's not you, it's the village! They keep on lying– I'm always lied to! It's just–” he breathed heavily, avoiding Naruto's eyes. 

There are many things Naruto wanted to point out: this was a shinobi village, it was built on lies; Sasuke was low ranked, he wasn't made aware of state secrets for a reason. But Naruto's mind was stuck on one point: Sasuke wasn't enraged at him, but on his behalf. On _his_ behalf.

He didn't deserve that.

(Because of everything he’s done in his past. Everything he’s done _now_. Even this was selfishly motivated; nothing good has come of him arriving in the past. The villagers had every right to condemn him, because even if they didn’t know it, his presence—or lack thereof— was the cause of the village’s destruction. Sasuke should save his pity; Naruto didn’t deserve it.)

But of course, he was a shinobi.

So he used it to his advantage. He made his request of Sasuke, and he barely had to explain himself before his teammate was agreeing adamantly. (He should be worried that Sasuke was doing this just to spite the village.)

But it was only later, alone in his small, rundown apartment, when he broke down.

 

* * *

 

Kakashi found himself believing Naruto more and more frequently. He couldn’t help it. His mind continued to drift about the ‘what ifs,’ all that Naruto knows, all that he had been through.

Now, looking back, he regrets not asking all the right questions. When he had caught Naruto in the woods, and this was sprung at him, he didn’t know what to think. And so most of his questions were aimed at assessing threat levels and seeing whether or not what Naruto was saying added up. But he never more than passively asked what events led up to the destruction of Konoha, what he should look out for in the near future. At the time, even now, he hadn’t wanted to know. But it remained in his mind, clung to his thoughts, the notion that Naruto had the information to save countless lives, to foresee any potential disasters for Konoha that could be avoided if only Kakashi got that information. At this point, Kakashi had easy blackmail material, a heavy weight to force Naruto to comply with his demands. But if Naruto were as strong as was implied, Kakashi would rather be an ally than an enemy. 

So he relented, letting Naruto have his way and removing all mentions of the kyuubi from the report. One doesn’t make an enemy of the jinchuuriki of the nine-tailed demon. (He had his suspicions regarding Naruto’s seal, even going so far as to assume that perhaps Naruto opened up the seal entirely, but he tactfully didn’t mention it. Surely he would sense the desire to go on a rampage and stomp out the lives of Konoha’s population?)

But of course, he did what he did best. He concealed himself as best he could, and then made his concealment even tighter by adding genjutsu into the mix, and hung back to watch his students. 

It was interesting how Sakura, who was filled with a dislike of Naruto when the team was just formed due to her upbringing, took the information far better than his other genin. Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed almost horrified. Then angry. It quickly became apparent that he wasn’t mad at Naruto: he would have lashed out directly, instead of stomping away sulkily. And while the object of Sasuke’s ire wasn’t Naruto, Kakashi was just as concerned about who exactly Sasuke was mad at. Because there was only one other option, and it didn’t look good for Sasuke’s service as a _Konoha_ shinobi.

He didn’t know whether he should have been proud or annoyed at how easily his genin gave in to Naruto’s request. He settled on something in the middle, figuring the two points counteracted each other. They were putting their teammate ahead of ‘the mission,’ in this case Konohagakure, but just proved themselves susceptible to easy manipulation (he was already planning out a lecture for later, perhaps during a gruelling D-rank). But that was beside the point. 

All this just showed that Naruto really had the experience that he claimed. Now that Kakashi was looking for it, it became pointedly obvious. It took years to hone the ability of such causal manipulation, especially since it was often something learned instinctively over the course of a shinobi career.

And after insuring that his genin returned to their abodes (via use of kage bunshin), he just reflected on what he witnessed. And what he didn’t. 

The chunin exams were coming soon. It may be in a couple of months, but the earlier he decided whether to give his team the chance or not, the earlier he could start training them in preparation. Perhaps if their teamwork was not as good, or that one genin didn’t have an unfair advantage, he wouldn’t even be considering it. But that was the case. After their last mission, he doubted they needed more incentive to bond, so throwing them into the exams would be for the sake of genuinely being considered for a promotion, rather than showing them their arrogance by putting them in a fight they could not win. With some more training and a higher arsenal of techniques, they could become chunin. And they would be taken seriously during their fights, leading to their deaths. However improbable, this, (and the fact that there may, in fact, be a security breach) made the decision not as straightforward as it should be. There were also village politics to consider, the implication of sending this particular group to the exams so soon.

So he had to decide.

And based on this interaction, he made his choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Defiantly not one of my favorite chapters, but hopefully it was a decent conclusion! ...less cliff hangers than usual...?


	26. One Step Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chunin exams are coming up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok. I am currently not following an update schedule, as I'm sure many of you have noticed, cuz I'm a procrastinator and I've been having one of those lazy weeks (or two) where all I do is lay in my bed all day and read fanfiction (it my vacation, ok? Jeez). And then I actually went on vacation. And then I actually sat down for a week and wrote something worthwhile. I'm that person. However, I recently began rereading my old chapters and let me tell you, they were not to my satisfaction. (I literally cringed at every paragraph.) So I started to go back and edit them. I feel that my writing has definitely improved since those beginning chapters (seriously, what's with those italics?) and so I made some tweaks. Like, a lot of them. (is it cheating? Cuz while I have some idea of where the plot is going now, I certainly didn't then) And I don't know about you, but Naruto doesn't seem “unhinged” enough in the beginning. Like, most of the story takes place like over a month after he timetraveled, but the beginning didn't feel satisfying enough to me. It's like: why did I take so much time to describe his clothing, Naruto probably gave zero shits at that point; and why would I even introduce this character/plot point, if I never go back and elaborate about it? Welp, it makes the overall quality of the fic better, so no one should complain (unless someone really really likes the older version, which I find unlikely). Anyways! Now I've got that off my chest. Sorry for this rant, but I felt like writing it, so *shrugs*
> 
> Now, off to the actual fic!

His genin handed their modified reports to the Sandaime’s assistant—Umino-san, as the man pointedly informed him days ago when he returned his own report.

Said man was indiscreet in his scrutiny of Naruto, concern evident in his ogling. It was obvious that he was closely acquainted with Naruto one point, before everything else. When the chunin wasn't tormenting his fellow shinobi for their reports, he was an academy teacher. Despite being the dead last, Umino had taken a liking to his blond, and was now feeling upset and guilty about the way his favorite student was ignoring him. When Sakura gave a wave at seeing him, even Sasuke making his customary sound of acknowledgement and eye contact, Naruto avoided Umino’s eyes, giving a strained smile that made even him twitch in discomfort.

Hokage-sama then called them to attention, giving the customary speech about miss-ranked, blown-to-shit missions. Umino-san was unable to resist glaring at him, unable to understand why he continued the mission and put his genin at risk. Kakashi couldn't help the cheeky look in return from his slouched position behind his students, his literature in his kunai pouch out of a semblance of respect. This only served to anger the assistant further.

Somehow over the next few minutes their prolonged eye contact devolved into a silent competition. It was incredibly childish, and yet Kakashi couldn't help the pulse of satisfaction when Umino looked away, momentarily flustered, after the Hokage gave a pointed cough.

His students looked uncomfortably tense throughout the exchange, a slight trepidation showing in their hesitation as they handed in the reports. He would have to teach them how to lie properly (the fact that he was encouraging them to lie to the Hokage, committing what was effectively treason, did not go over his head. He has his priorities).

“You're dismissed,” the Hokage concluded. “Kakashi, stay behind.”

His students left the room wordlessly. He caught relief on two of his students, but as they were walking out of the room, Naruto's shoulders were tense.

Once they were out of the office, Sarutobi-sama continued, “As you know, the chunin exams are coming up in two months time here, in Konohagakure.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi mentally counted the number of ANBU in the room, sensing any familiar masks. He knew what questions were to be asked.

“Do you believe Team Seven is ready?” 

“Yes sir,” 

“ _What_?” Umino interrupted, gaining the attention of both himself and the Sandaime’s. “No disrespect, but they just graduated. Surely some more time–”

 “Umino-san, you've read my report already. With further training, _my_ students will be ready.” He held Umino-san’s gaze.

“I apologize,” the former academy teacher stood down reluctantly.

Ability-wise, his team was far ahead than what he expected at this point. He was confident that they’d survive. It was ultimately their choice whether they attend or not, however. (If Naruto knew something terrible would happen, he could easily make the team wait for the next exam.) The fact that the exam was on home turf only further encouraged his team’s participation.

“Good. I'll have a notice sent to you about the official meeting. Don't be late, Kakashi.”

“Yes Hokage-sama." 

“Good. You are dismissed.”

 

* * *

 

“Have you heard? Sakura!”

“What is it?” She called back distractedly, moving through a taijutsu form (one that Kakashi-sensei pulled her aside for a few weeks back, shoving a scroll into her hands and telling her to learn), attempting to integrate her chakra-enhanced strikes.

“Have you heard about the chunin exams coming up in a month?” Exclaimed Ino.

“Really?”

“Yes! I heard some of my cousins talking, they're chunin, about how it's being hosted in Konoha for the first time in years! Isn't it so exciting? We could be chunin! And Sasuke-kun,” she swooned dramatically, “it could be my chance!”

Sakura spared her friend a dry look, purposefully ignoring Ino’s comment about her teammate. (Sure, she still had a small crush—she couldn't just _stop_ —but she put it aside. For now. Besides, she was confident that Sasuke liked her more.)

“Huh,” she responded with feigned disinterest, attempting to gauge a further reaction from Ino.

“Whatever, forehead. Just don't come crying when I win over Sasuke-kun!”

An irrational anger overtook her at Ino’s words. She just didn't take being a shinobi seriously at all. Didn't she know the consequences of a mistake, what could happen if she wasn't strong enough? What would happen? Didn't she— no, she didn't.

Because she hasn't had a mission when everything went wrong, when she had to fight for her life and the lives of her teammates. When she had to kill people. Ino didn't understand this yet, and therefore couldn't take her role seriously. And yet Sakura didn't wish that knowledge on her friend.

“It's not a game,” she said.

“I know that! It's just— not everyone can train all day, you know? Not like you,” 

And Sakura realized that she used to be just like this. Never putting any thought to training, nor her career, nor anything that got mud on her clothes and sweat on her skin because she always had to look her best _for Sasuke-kun._ Both her and Ino and countless other girls let this blind them to the realities of this lifestyle. It would never be life and death to them until it was too late.

And she knew Ino. She knew how stubborn she was. They were best friends for years, even throughout their petty rivalries. She remembered the way she always looked up to her, the way Ino was always better. Naturally prettier, and stronger, and larger chakra capacity, and a whole clan to back her up. She was a civilian born without any clan techniques nor natural strength nor parents that understood shinobi life. So she looked to Ino as a role model, did well enough in the academy, and was placed on a team with her crush. And had no idea what she was headed for. 

“I just need to be stronger, next time. Do you know what happened, on _that_ mission? I nearly died. My team nearly died. I just can't–” she cut herself off, breathing hard as she finished her kata with a chakra enhanced punch. She let herself drop onto the ground, chugging down a water bottle as she sprawled across the dusty earth. It was then she spared Ino a glance.

Ino's lower lip was between her teeth and her eyes were pinched. Sakura had never seen her so unsure of herself.

“I–look, I'm sorry. I didn't think– I didn't mean–” she stammered, before composing herself. “I haven't been a very good friend, have I?”

“What? No!” Sakura countered immediately, surprised. “That's not what I think at all! I'm just— I just have a lot on my mind. I wasn't saying—” she was cut off by Ino’s giggles.

“S–s–sorry, forehead!” She choked out through her laughter, “I just should have supported you, that–that's what I meant. I'm just glad you're so defensive of-of our friendship, that's it!”

Her giggles were infectious and Sakura couldn't help but join in. The tension from the former conversation dissipated, giving way to their usual mindless gossip.

As Ino was leaving hours later, she couldn't help but call, “Oh! And Sakura! Don't forget to tell Sasuke-kun who told _you_ about the chunin exams when you tell him, ‘kay?”

“You wish!”

 

* * *

 

He awoke at night to a familiar chakra signature. (He should ignore it. He should have ignored it like every other signature that made him yearn to see them again, to weep with repressed emotion. It was pathetic.)

But it was too painful, too familiar, and he chased it without thought. (He never considered how bad of an idea it was.)

The middle of the night: that time when even the party-goers have gone to slumber, when shadows obscured the roads, when only the night-patrol could catch him. They don't. (He wasn't thinking it through.) 

He didn't change from his sleepwear as he rushed head on against the midnight breeze. The wind chills clammy skin through thin cloth. He runs blindly. 

And prowling atop the walls of the village was him.

(Naruto didn't notice the masked guards. He didn't notice the roots that sprang up.)

(He didn't notice a lot of things.)

The churning chakra, the malevolence of the sand. The calm preempting the storm. He was a small figure with an all-too-large aura. A shock of red hair. Sleepless eyes.

(An enemy-ally-comrade-preciousperson-friend)

_“Gaara!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was tired when I wrote that bit at the ending. Sue me. (Please don't, actually!)


	27. Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto meets Gaara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth, I just wasn’t in a mood to write, lol. Summer vacation tends to do that… And now school started… ugh too much homework. (Lemme tell you, you'd think that every class at the hardest possible level offered would probably reduce free time right?*sweatdrop* ...especially if you procrastinate as much as I do...)
> 
> Holy shit! 1000 kudos! Jeez… never thought I’d make it this far and (sorry for sounding cliche) thanks for all the support and lovely comments! Hopefully Gaara’ pov makes up for the long wait!

The Ichibi was growling more than usual, resonating from the back of his head and cutting through what little barrier existed into his mind. Indistinct noises cut through him, turbulent and unyielding, leaving faint shudders rippling across his skin. Gaara couldn't help the hand that reached up and rubbed at his temple.   
  
The thin layer of sand over his skin rattled. Something was unsettling Mother.  
  
He had found no reason to remain in the appointed rooms Konohagakure provided for the upcoming exams. With a strange restlessness, he slipped out the window into a cool evening air. He felt the masked figures trailing behind him but spared them no acknowledgment.   
  
Konohagakure was alien. The villagers spared him no more than a second glance, scrutiny due to being from Suna and the Kazekage’s son rather than the bijuu’s _tendencies._ There wasn’t fear nor disgust on their faces (he found himself reluctant to change that opinion despite his purpose here. But the Ichibi’s urges always won out).   
  
His midnight prowlings took him far from the nightly commotion of the civilians, passing closed shops through dark streets. Eventually, he moved up to the roofs, taking what little enjoyment he could from the clear night sky. If not for the noise in his head, he would even call this night relaxing. He continued walking.  
  
Gaara didn't sense so much as hear the blond boy.  
  
Mother's warnings crescendoed into a static scream and it was all he could do not to double over.  
  
 _Kill him._  
  
“Gaara!”  
  
The unknown boy rushed at him. Gaara felt his sand draw up to attack, sand condensing into tendrils that snapped at the stranger. Despite any attempts to stop himself, foreign fury rose up in him. Gaara could do nothing but watch as the One-Tail’s bloodlust was fulfilled.   
  
Through the reddish haze, Garra spotted the blond deftly dodge the onslaught. Gaara couldn’t perceive anything significant about the boy, but the demon clearly thought differently. Mother was always right. There was no reason to spare the stranger. The fact that he knew his name (acknowledging his _existence_ ), did not matter. His orders didn’t matter. Nothing really mattered. Any semblance of control slipped further. His awareness fluttered.   
  
Mother sure didn’t like this boy.  
  
And then. And then the haze faded, and the boy was close, and his sand fell to the ground, and the Ichibi was _gone._   
  
He slumped to the ground, suddenly powerless. His head felt empty. Quiet.  
  
Gaara found himself slouched against the wall, with the blond kneeling in front of him as he stared intently at him with a violet gaze. He tried to draw back but his limbs felt like lead.  
  
“Are you alright?” the boy questioned, alarmed in a way that perplexed Gaara. Concern, it took him a moment to identify. Gaara glared back, attempting to muster his usual killing intent. He didn’t want pity (because a person concerned about him; impossible).  
  
“What did you do?” he ground out.  
  
The boy shuffled back, confusion evident despite the shadows.  
  
“What? No—I didn’t—I—oh,” he stuttered out, eyes widening. “I apologize,” the boy composed, “What happened wasn’t intentional,” he grimaced, “I’m a jinchuuriki, like you. A bijuu, the Nine-Tails, is sealed in me. He didn’t appreciate the Ichibi’s attack on my person and convinced him otherwise.”  
  
Gaara’s eyes widened. Another jinchuuriki. Gaara has never met someone like himself before, never even heard of someone else. Other than the implication of nine, Gaara had never given much thought about if there were others. If others were ostracised like him, hated, feared. If others had assassinations attempted on their life, ordered by their very own father. If others killed and killed and killed, if only to rid that look from everyone’s eyes. As if he wasn’t worth the ground he walked on.  
  
No wonder Mother was so afraid if this blond demon-container could silence her. Silence the Ichibi. And for a moment, he felt more alone, yet more free, than he ever had in his life.  
  
His mouth felt dry as he spoke: “Like me?” But at the sight of the other jinchuuriki’s face, he angered. “No, not like me. Are you unable to sleep? Do you have to prove your existence?”  
  
Gaara detected a faint wince from the other boy, but then a determination overtook his face.    
  
“No, I haven’t,” said the blond, “but I may be able to fix your sleeping problem.”  
  
The blond held his arm out, palm outreaching.  Gaara shouldn’t trust this boy, but somehow he found himself grabbing the hand and being pulled up to his feet. If the other jinchuuriki wanted to kill him, he would have already had the chance. (And the ability to sleep was all too tempting, despite the risk.)  
  
“By the way, my name’s Uzumaki Naruto,” Naruto smiled at Gaara.  
  
Just as he settled on his feet, a dark look passed his companion’s face. “We’re being watched. Come with me, then we can talk,” he whispered.  
  
Gaara followed.  
  


 

* * *

 

  
  
Each day, he gained more and more awareness, a higher degree of consciousness with every passing day. After his container managed to get himself in such a situation wherein he collapsed from a lack of Kurama’s chakra, he had made sure to provide a steady, if small, stream of chakra to Naruto, at the cost of a longer _hibernation._ It was well worth it as Naruto would have killed them both (or rather; killed himself and set back Kurama’s recovery by millennia) otherwise.   
  
But he had finally woken up days ago. Naruto had happily greeted him, expressing relief at his more aware condition. (The bijuu would never admit this aloud, but he was worried about Naruto’s state of mind, especially since the aforementioned _emergency._ It was good to see that he has adjusted since.) Naruto had summarized the prior two months for him, and Kurama couldn’t help the hit of displeasure at all the unnecessary risks his container had taken.  
  
And then the blond runs off and pulls a risky stunt again.   
  
While Kurama was confident that he was more powerful than Shukaku at any given time, the margin was considerably smaller than it used to be. So when Naruto goes ahead and antagonizes him, Kurama degraded himself into bluffing, making grand exclamations about consequences if Shukaku proceeds. Perhaps even providing an _incentive_ to back off his tiny container.  
  
 _‘What did you do?’_ was the immediate reaction.   
  
Kurama inwardly sighed. Count on Naruto to care more about his attacker than himself.  
  
“Nothing irreversible,” the Kyuubi said.  
  
When his container sent him the mental equivalent of a glare, he relented. “Fine, I simply had a _talk_ with Shukaku.”   
  
It was obvious that Naruto wanted him to elaborate, wavering between continuing to question him or focus his full attention on the blood-thirsty child. In the end, Kurama made the decision for him.  
  
“Now would be a good time to seal away Shukaku’s influence, if that’s what you’re planning,” Kurama said nonchalantly.  
  
 _‘Oh. Thanks'_ came the weary reply.  
  
\----  
  
In his haste, he didn’t notice their shadowed spectator. But now it seemed obvious. Of course, there was surveillance on the Kazekage’s son, a jinchuuriki.   
  
He stretched his senses out, attempting to identify their followers. They radiated little chakra, most of it tightly concealed under sturdy control. No, they weren’t a standard ANBU operatives, but their chakra was startlingly familiar. Startlingly off-putting. Root. (He felt a strange mix of hope and a lot of dread; the Hokage had no control over the ANBU off-branch, even seemingly unknowing of it, but Root’s presence meant something far more sinister was in the works. Something to do with the upcoming invasion.)  
  
He was relieved that Kurama didn’t do anything drastic on his behalf. Having Gaara temporarily disconnected from the Ichibi made everything much easier for him. Tightening Gaara’s seals would benefit the both of them at this point. As Gaara himself pointed out, he couldn’t sleep and had a variety of _control_ issues.   
  
He led the young fellow jinchuuriki across rooftops, knowing the futility of attempting to knock their trackers of their tails. They would escape to Naruto’s apartment.  
  
(Once he had gained enough chakra to spare, he had drawn an arsenal of seals, some to unobtrusively guard his apartment, and some for other projects. He had kept busy after Wave. So he felt safe slipping Gaara into the apartment, confident in his privacy seals. It wasn’t as if they weren’t already seen interacting.)  
  
Gaara’s eyes were dark and scrutinizing as they followed his form, but no comment was to be made on their way back. Naruto himself had no idea about how to interact with a young Gaara: future Kazekage and close friend. He wasn’t those things now, and may never become those things, for all Naruto knew. (He still felt a sharp pang in his chest at all the lives lost, all the people he cared about. Still cared about, despite being different people.)  
  
Because for everything that Gaara did for him and his precious people, Naruto intended to repay in kind. It was surprisingly easy to gain a tentative trust from the red-head, but kindness went a long way, especially to one that was never shown any. It was still low, however, the way he convinced Gaara to come with him so he could strengthen his seal. By bringing up his inability to sleep, Naruto blatantly manipulated him (something Naruto found himself doing more and more to those around him, with greater ease each time). But even if Gaara couldn't feel it, Naruto easily read exhaustion of his thin frame, the permanent dark circles around his eyes, the chalky pallor, even the thrum of his heartbeat. It was borderline miraculous that Gaara was able to sustain himself on bijuu chakra alone.  
  
He would admit he acted impulsively when he sensed Gaara’s chakra, couldn’t help the strange unfurling hope when he noticed his presence. He didn’t even think to change out of his nightwear before taking chase, only slipping on slippers out of habit as he arose from bed. The subsequent fight tore at the thin cloth, stained red from the odd cut (already healed) from the speeding sand. But it was only common sense to take advantage of the situation, as Kurama so helpfully mentioned.  
  
He felt the cool chakra barrier wash over him as he entered through the window, his companion following just a few footsteps behind. He pressed his hand to the wall, focusing his chakra until a privacy seal, which he had embedded in the wall weeks earlier, glowed in activation.  
  
“There. Some privacy,” he said, stretching his lips in what he hoped looked like a reassuring smile.  
  
Gaara’s eyes momentarily met his own hesitantly, before looking down, forehead scrunched in frustration.  
  
“My head, it’s _quiet._ Does that mean...?” Gaara left the question hanging, but Naruto could hear the words unsaid as clear as day.  
  
Gaara has once confided in him, during his service as a Suna shinobi, about the powerful influence the Ichibi had on his thoughts and actions. Before the Akatsuki had kidnaped and absorbed the bijuu from him, Gaara had to constantly struggle against the Ichibi’s influence on him, never nearing the comradeship he had with Kurama. As the Ichibi was sealed within him before birth, with his mother’s life as the price, Gaara was not marked with any physical, tangible seal. This, paired with ignorant sealing, (Naruto scoffed at the notion of purposefully making the seal weak, in hopes of making the jinchuuriki more powerful—more like screwing over the so-called weapon's life) made Gaara’s situation that much harder to fix. Especially when the hidden village in question had no reputable seal masters: no one who knew how to fix a job they could not see.  
  
So Naruto knew exactly what he was asking; he’s heard it all before, even witnessed it first hand, to some extent.  
  
“Only temporarily,” he replied honestly, “But whoever sealed the Ichibi in you did a shit job at it. There is no reason for the Ichibi to have so much control over you. The Kyuubi doesn’t, and he’s the _Kyuubi._ ”   
  
Naruto’s own seal has always been airtight, so the Kyuubi had no mental influence on him until he actively sought out his chakra. It was only after Naruto did away with the seal, a necessary risk at the time, that he could contact and speak with Kurama without deep meditation. He was confident that whatever he will draw up will at least allow Gaara to sleep, alleviating some of the pressure from a bijuu constantly bearing down on a weak seal and will-power.  
  
“But I do know some ‘bout fuinjutsu,”  
  
Gaara’s eyes momentarily widened, before narrowing with suspicion.  
  
“Why should I trust you?”  
  
\----  
  
He scrutinized the boy—Uzumaki Naruto—in front of him. For all the danger that he posed, Naruto didn’t look like much. While Gaara was armed, the other was clearly not. While Gaara had the protection of his sand, Naruto merely had the clothes on his back, thin and torn through sporadically. And yet Gaara was at a disadvantage.  
  
“Why shouldn’t you?”   
  
Why shouldn’t he? Because Gaara didn’t know him, while the other clearly recognized him. Because the blond didn’t fear him, despite knowing what he was capable of. Because he was so kind to him, and the only person who acted similarly was sent to assassinate him.  
  
And yet.   
  
His head has never felt so clear in his life. The echoes of the Ichibi’s words ceased, the cloud of bloodlust evaporated from his thoughts. He still hated, still wanted to prove his existence, but he didn’t feel the urge to fall into mindless rages, didn’t crave the blood of all petty villagers and everything that surrounded him. It was addictive, to be in such control, to not have to worry that a moment of weakness will let the Ichibi total control.  
  
And suddenly, he realized that he wanted that feeling to last. No matter what.   
  
Gaara sighed and relented.   
  
The other jinchuuriki understood what he was unwilling to say, moving away towards a small cabinet and fishing out a small scroll. A quick surge of chakra and the small storage seal gave way to vials of ink and brushes. The blond laid out the equipment on the floor of the sparse room, picking out vials inks seemingly at random, before gesturing at him to go sit on the couch.  
  
He sat without complaint, shifting his position as to sit comfortably despite the large gourd on his back.  
  
The boy, clearly satisfied with his mixture, grabbed it and a thin brush before following him, plotting himself beside him. Gaara unwillingly tensed at the proximity. (He trusted that Mother would protect him, but he’s never met someone insane enough to get so close to him.)  
  
“To make this more permanent,” the blond gestured gracelessly at him, “I can paint this seal on you. Obviously, you have an initial seal from when the Ichibi was sealed in you, physical or not, but it doesn’t have a security clause. This seal will add that security, working with your initial seal to block off the bijuu’s more volatile influences. You’ll have to manually draw out its chakra. So. Where would you like it?” asked Naruto, his head tilted as he looked at him quizzically.  
  
He was slightly taken aback by the blond’s sudden fast speech but blinked it away to his usual impassivity.   
  
“Left shoulder,” said Gaara. It was the last place anyone would notice it, especially as it was normally covered by the gourd. He nimbly shrugged off said gourd, placing it by his feet, and tugged down at the fabric covering his shoulder. He turned so the shoulder faced the other.  
  
The blond merely hummed in agreement, before lightly placing his hand on the bare skin. Or attempting to, at least, before his sand rose up in instant defense, planting a barrier between the hand and his skin. He heard the springs of the couch squeak as the other flinched. Gaara closed his eyes as he willed the defense to disintegrate. (He couldn’t risk this opportunity, no matter how convenient it seemed. To finally be free, to validate his _own_ existence rather than some creature, was worth it. It had to be.)  
  
He bit his lip when he first felt the coolness of a stroke, followed by a stinging sensation. Time passes slowly as Gaara felt conscious of every precise movement of the brush.  
  
But then he felt his chakra levels plummet and he tried to move away in panic. It was futile, as he seemed to have lost the ability to move, his limbs lead.  
  
His last thought before unconsciousness was: _perhaps he shouldn’t have trusted so easily._  
  
  
  
  
\----  
  
Naruto watched impassively as he fell into unconsciousness, slumping forwards with little fight.   
  
In all honesty, Naruto was surprised how easily Gaara gave into his offer, especially with how Naruto initially introduced himself. He didn’t account for how desperately Gaara wanted to remove the Ichibi’s influence. He couldn’t remember Gaara ever behaving this way, but perhaps it was because he had received a taste of what it was like. Naruto couldn’t relate. But whatever caused this immediate trust, Naruto wasn’t going to overly scrutinize it.   
  
The seal Naruto had started on his shoulder blade had knocked him out due to a sudden spike in energy consumption by the seal. This merely signaled that the first layer of the seal was done. When he had described the seal to Gaara, he had slightly oversimplified its objective. And its application. To make it work with the former seal, well, it would take a lot of fine work. Many layers in which he’d have to create a signal between a seal that literally did not physically exist, and the new one. And a lot of his own chakra. There was a reason no one had attempted this earlier. He just had Kurama on his side.  
  
(That wasn’t to say that he wasn’t anxious at the daunting task, not at all.)  
  
He moved Gaara’s limp frame into a more comfortable position and set to work.    
  
It was when the first trickles of light came and passed, hours after Naruto had succumbed to his own exhaustion after finishing the final layer of the seal when he was woken up by a blast of sand to his person.  
  
Gaara stood, shaken, with his hand raised as long tendrils of sand pointed at him. Naruto took relief in the fact that it was obviously Gaara in control, and not the Ichibi.  
  
“What was _that?_ ” Gaara said in alarm.  
  
Naruto, at risk of being maimed to death, did not try to make a placating gesture with his hands. Rather, he had to fight off the amusement attempting to dominate his face.  
  
“You were sleeping,” he said.  
  
He blinked a few times before lowering his hand, retracting his sand back into the gourd. “That was sleep?” he murmured quasi-distastefully before looking at him genuinely surprised, “You actually did it.”  
  
Naruto met his eyes straight on, unflinchingly, “Of course I did,”

The other scoffed, turning to leave. He hesitated, however, at the window.  
  
“Why do you care?” Gaara asked in a disarmingly fragile tone.  
  
“We’re brothers, after all, in all but blood,” Naruto answered back wearily.    
  
Gaara froze for a moment before disappearing out the window.  
  
“Brothers,” Naruto repeated, murmuring to himself. Naruto owed Gaara that much, even if the other couldn’t remember it.   
  
(As of yet, he may come to regret this impulsivity of his.)  
  
\----  
  
Danzō-sama was explicit in his orders: surveillance of the jinchuuriki Sabaku Gaara, son of the Third Kazekage. Any suspicious behaviors would be covered by Root and reported directly to Danzō-sama.   
  
As the two Root shinobi were in deep infiltration in Konohagakure’s ANBU, requesting the unwanted task was met with little difficulty.  
  
(If the two operatives had any inclination towards insubordination, Danzō-sama's orders would have come under more scrutiny. As the case was not such, any and all questions were held behind a sealed mouth.)   
  
The following events would classify as unforeseen. Konohagakure’s jinchuuriki engaged Sunagakure’s jinchuuriki, clearly on the defense until the other spontaneously collapsed. Once aroused, the two spoke briefly before leaving—Sabaku Gaara following Uzumaki Naruto—to the latter’s apartment, of which was heavily sealed for privacy.   
  
One Root shinobi kept watch on the building while the other returned to the sight of the impromptu battle, firstly analyzing and then obscuring its existence.  
  
The other kept surveillance on their target. So he was bewildered at the privacy barriers at the jinchuuriki’s abode. But it was not his place to make such an inquiry. All relevant information would be submitted to Danzō-sama, as the mission parameters indicate.


	28. Preperations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto and Kakashi have another talk.

Sakura didn’t know whether to be afraid or excited. Ino had told her, after all, that the chunin exams were right around the corner. It just didn’t compute in her head until the forms, quite literally, were dumped onto her lap.

Team Seven was sitting together at a food booth—Sakura having been ravenous after a long day of training and D-ranks. Her teammates had not complained. Kakashi-sensei had told them that he would meet them there and then disappeared from view.

And he just had to ruin a peaceful evening, didn’t he? Now, instead of relishing the admittedly sweet (but she couldn’t be blamed for treating herself after a long day) dango, her stomach churned with anxiety.

Her musings were interrupted by a clang as Naruto abruptly turned to face their sensei, papers clutched in his hand and jaw tight. Kakashi-sensei obliged the accusatory glare with a long look of his own. The next few moments were spent in tense silence, with her and Sasuke bearing witness to what seemed like a silent argument. Naruto’s lips thinned as he looked away.

“Fine,” said Naruto, clipped.

The blond then proceeded to stalk off, papers still held tightly in his grip.

Kakashi-sensei sighed, showing a rare hint of weariness as he dragged his hand through his hair.

“Read those through and make a decision. I’ll need them back within the week,” he then looked them in the eyes, face grave, “Genin have died during these exams. I suggest you think long and hard about what direction you want your career to go.”

On that forbearing note, her sensei took his leave. She doubted she could finish her food anymore.

Sakura turned to Sasuke, noticing his clenched fists and the determination in the set of his jaw. His eyes met hers and she sighed. She wouldn’t let her teammates go alone and Sasuke knew that.

But Sakura had been training. The prospect of showing off those efforts, gaining some recognition and reward for her hard work, was tempting. Very tempting. (Logic told her that with higher rank came higher risk. And with higher risk came more missions like one in Wave. More blood, more _killing_ . She and her team could _die_. And yet, with higher rank came higher level techniques—and with those, she could better protect herself).

Perhaps it wasn’t the best choice, perhaps it will leave her quaking with terror in the pitch black of the night, but that evening she signed her name with flourish at the bottom of the contract.

 

* * *

 

As expected, Naruto confronted him shortly after. The fact that the blond knew where his apartment was and how to avoid all the traps was unsettling, but not wholly unexpected.

“Naruto,” he said with a hint of exasperation as the blond breezed into his living room through the window. By now, he could recognize his students’ chakra signatures from anywhere, even one as fluctuating and masked as Naruto’s.

“Kakashi- _sensei_ ,” his lovely student griped back.

Kakashi knew that something happened—will happen—in the chunin exams. Not only had Naruto alluded to such an event more and more frequently as time passed by—Kakashi had found it difficult to ignore the occasional imploring gaze that was quickly shut beneath walls when Naruto realized that he had noticed and yet ignored him—the mounting tension over the past week alone indicated that the chunin exams would not be as straight forwards as Kakashi could hope for. It was unfortunate, but both he and Naruto understood that Naruto would not relinquish any information unless his hand was forced. And Kakashi needed information, as a matter of village safety if nothing else.

And so he recommended them for the exams, knowing that this would be the final straw and Naruto could not keep mum any longer.

“So. What brings you here?” said Kakashi, smiling at the near-fuming brat.

“You know why” Naruto’s eyes burned with accusation.

Kakashi would have felt bad if this wasn’t the result of Naruto being so stubborn as to potentially put his teammates in danger. He could understand and almost sympathize with Naruto’s belief that he had to do everything on his own, that trusting others could lead to loose strings and the unraveling of whatever plan Naruto had undoubtedly conjured up, but Naruto couldn’t see the thin line he was standing on the way Kakashi did. And despite Naruto’s idea that he doesn’t deserve nor want the support of others, he was Kakashi’s responsibly. No matter how old he was mentally.

“Indulge me,” he kept his expression even.

His lack of reaction seemed to infuriate him, and it was obvious the Naruto’s words were said with the intent to cut:

“You’ll lose a student, that’s what will happen!”

Kakashi hid the shudder that trailed down his spine before responding with the same sharp certainty, “and you know who that fault will fall upon, Naruto? You, because by refusing to inform anyone, you are chancing the risk that the same events will reoccur.”

While his words seemed to knock Naruto back a few steps, the next few seconds sludged by with the frailty of an upcoming explosion. Kakashi fortified himself for the potential that Naruto would simply leave, that Kakashi had shoved too hard and that the blonde will simply continue with his pattern of evasion. Or that Naruto would finally erupt with anger and attack, verbally or otherwise.

He didn’t expect him to just give in.

(But, thinking back, this is something he’s done before, in that forest in the dead of night. Just letting his problems boil up until a confrontation was the only way to fall back to earth. He refused to admit to himself that it almost sounded familiar.)

“You’re right,” a frown twisted Naruto’s mouth further as his eyes looked off to the side, “you’re right,” he repeated with a murmur. Naruto slumped backwards against the wall, looking down at his hands.

But Kakashi knew that being correct was often far worse than being wrong. And Naruto’s reaction meant bad news.

To lose a student, a prospect that frightened him more than expected.

Naruto’s voice was hardly louder than a whisper.

“The chunin exam is what set everything off. Until then, we were merely team seven, just another genin team. But then… I’m sure you’ve heard about Otogakure. It is run by Orochimaru, who orchestrates–”

Kakashi could tell where this was heading. A new village, a powerful nukenin which undoubtedly hates Konoha. Suna sending the Kazekage’s children, despite their current mistrust and resentment of Konohagakure. How he hated being right. There was going to be an–

“an invasion,” Naruto continued, “but it doesn’t end at that. Otogakure allies itself with Sunagakure, and while doing so, Orochimaru assassinates the Kazekage and takes his place to enter Konoha. He fights and kills the Hokage,”

Kakashi sucks in a gasp. It was difficult to wrap his head around. The Sandaime, dead. He was the Hokage ever since Kakashi was born. And even though he had to return from retirement after the loss of the Fourth, Kakashi could only imagine the disorder that his death would cause. With no immediate successor, not only would certain _factions_ be vying for power but the instability in the wake of an invasion with such loses… it would be just as bad as the Kyuubi’s attack.

“But Orochimaru has another reason for coming to Konoha. He wants the dojutsu of the Uchiha.”

 _Sasuke_.

“Does he get it?”

“Yes,” Naruto breathed out.

Kakashi wished he could tell Naruto that that wouldn’t happen again, that the Sandaime won’t die, that the invasion won’t happen, that Sasuke wouldn’t be taken. Kakashi couldn’t make such promises. This wasn’t something Kakashi could stop. And Naruto knew that.

Kakashi pinched his nose through his mask.

But Kakashi couldn’t help but ask, “Do you believe that not attending the chunin exams will prevent some of this?”

Naruto’s lips further twisted downwards.

“No.”

Everything may be inevitable, but not unconquerable. Preparation is key against impossible odds, a carefully placed paper bomb will allow a genin to kill a jounin, after all.

They may be faced with such odds, but laying on their backs and letting the team down was not an option.

“Sit, Naruto. I need to know everything before we make a plan.”

 

* * *

 

The sharingan activated, and the world slowed around him.

The drain on his chakra was imminent, but he was beginning to improve. He had to improve.

He went through his katas. Once. Twice. Again.

He had to be faster, stronger. He had to be as fast as his eyes. Otherwise, what’s the use? The memory of Haku’s senbon moving closer and closer, his body just unable _move away_ , flickered behind his eyes. That memory would never go away, just like that of That Night.

But his chakra ran out in a quarter of an hour, and all he was left with was an empty sense of weakness. He chugged down water and dragged his hand through his hair.

He looked out at his surroundings, and the Uchiha compound stared back with all its barren glory. His weakness caused this.

Sasuke always thought that his eyes would make him powerful, that when he unlocked the Sharingan, everything would become clearer and would click in his head. But instead, he was only more confused, only feeling weaker than ever. He never felt blinder. His clan would be ashamed.

At this rate, he would never be able to avenge his clan, to avenge his mother and father and cousins and aunts and uncles and– he stopped himself with a ragged breath.

There was no use giving into such thoughts.

Instead, his mind turned to the chunin exams. It was the next obvious step for him, a way to prove that he is deserving of his dojutsu, if to no one but himself. He was sure that Sakura would attend as well, her sudden zeal for becoming stronger practically matched his own. Naruto– he wasn’t sure, especially after his reaction to Kakashi’s announcement. But he was never sure with him (not when he graduated, not when he began emitting chakra that belonged to the _fucking_ Nine-tails, and certainly not now).

And yet Sasuke wished they could do it as a team.

But there was something else he had to do.

So instead of giving into his exhaustion, he went back to the remnants of the once-grand Uchiha library.

As one of the most damaged buildings in the compound, he had to step around the shreds of plywood and collapsed walls. The ground floor was in shambles, the second floor non-existent. But the basement must have been protected by seals. The center of the room appeared as if a paper bomb went off, but the occasional outskirt along the perimeter of the room showed minimal damage. He had been able to put two and two together. Sasuke had removed the shambles from the former building, clearing the area and yet leaving the underground sealed from outside view.

That was years ago.

With his new-found eyes, he had access to the library’s more clan-exclusive scrolls.

Every night since the Wave mission, he had been systematically reading through every scroll, every note written on the margin, even the odd report about clan food spendings of all things. He didn’t care.

He wished he could be more surprised when it became obvious that certain documents were omitted, certain dates simply missing from the archives, pages missing from a more anti-village scroll.

But he knew who had done it.

The gears in his head turn as Sasuke made this his own personal mission: to figure out what Uchiha Itachi was trying so hard to hide.

He had to.

 

* * *

 

Naruto tells Kakashi about the chunin exams, about Orochimaru’s plans, about what happened to Team Seven. About his failures.

But he didn’t—couldn’t—tell him about Gaara. He didn’t tell him about his role in the invasion, nor the fact that he was a jinchuuriki, nor his future Kazekage status. Kakashi’s loyalties lay with his team and his village. It didn’t extend to the whims of his students. And Naruto was confident in his sealing prowess and hoped that Gaara felt a shred of the loyalty that Naruto felt for him. (Naruto had a feeling that Kakashi knew that he was hiding more from him, but he didn’t push further and Naruto was grateful.)

Instead of letting him wallow about the inevitability of the invasion, he gave him a proverbial slap over the head and made him think rationally. (Naruto could hear Kurama chuffing in the background of his mind about his incessant dramatics. Naruto politely ignored him.)

Naruto should have felt angrier at Kakashi’s manipulations. But Naruto knew that he wouldn’t have spoken unless forced, his mouth sealed shut either by habit or pain. For all that Kurama had told him he should take a more active role, his trust in others ran even thinner than his own,

‘ _Why should I trust those meat-sacks after what they’ve done to us?_ ’

Naruto privately agreed, even though he conceded that these people around him haven’t done anything to not warrant that trust; if anything, they’ve done the opposite. His team continues to keep the secrets he burdens them with, despite any consequences.

And yet he cannot silence that voice in his head that reminded him that these weren’t the people he had grown to trust, once upon a time.

So Naruto allowed himself to open up further to his former (current) sensei, allowed himself to feel relieved when the man holds his shoulder tightly and tells him it will be alright, even when he knows it won’t.

Earlier, Kakashi had pushed him onto the couch, “If we are going to make plans like rational adults, we need to be logical. And _you_ need to calm down.”

Naruto was glad he took that opportunity instead of giving in to the urge to simply _leave his problems behind him, and run._ He couldn’t help but wonder when he had become such a coward.

So they spoke like rational adults.

For hours.

And when Naruto picked up his heavy limbs to escape out the window into the moonlit village below, his moment of hesitation was noticed and taken advantage of.

And when the offer of tea and maybe something stronger was made he decided not to return to his lonely apartment.

And when he found his head tipping back against the soft sofa he wasn’t stopped, and the rustle of a blanket being draped over him was heard, Naruto barely even shifted before returning to a quiet darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so I'm alive! Honestly, I wasn't sure I'd ever come back to this, but here I am! Thank you all for sticking with me, I appreciate all the comments and Kudos.
> 
> Guess what? I made a tumblr (that is pretty much empty but like whatever) Check me out here: https://kawaiianimegirl101.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> Kinda sporadic updates. Sorry!


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